“But David thought to himself, ‘One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul…’”
1 Samuel 27:1
Last week’s blog focused on how David, the designated replacement
to Saul’s royal throne, was ushered into a gauntlet of trials and tribulations,
and yet managed to receive God-ordained encouragement in the midst of strife.
The would-be king was a fugitive for many years. David crisscrossed his country
and surrounding regions to avoid the murderous grasp of King Saul. But God’s
benevolent hand was on the youngest son of Jesse and even when David entered a
cave in Adullam in 1 Samuel 22 God revealed Himself in a most unusual and
magnificent way. People of desperation and brokenness came from all over to
reside with David. The down-and-out opted to share in David’s tragedy. The
loner was no longer alone. God’s grace and comfort could still be found, even
in a cave-dwelling experience.
This lesson fast forwards many years past David’s temporary stay at
a cave in Adullam. By 1 Samuel 27 David had endured much relocation just to try
and stay ahead of Saul’s army. David was likely exhausted, discouraged, and losing
hope. In fact, 1 Samuel 27:1 conveys that David started to believe Saul would
eventually find him and kill him, thus voiding out God’s promise to establish
David as Israel’s second king. But God has never broken a pledge and never
will. He is the eternal covenant-keeping God Whose word is bond. But conflict,
after all, has a way of defeating the mightiest warriors before the battle has
ended, and David was one of the mightiest emotional and spiritual warriors in
Scripture. Through the haze of conflict, David probably surveyed the potential
outcome and determined that the odds of escaping Saul’s manhunt were heavily
stacked against him.
Conflict was a cross that David had to bear for the sum of his
life. Conflict with enemies outside Israel. Conflict with enemies within
Israel. Conflict with family members. Some of the conflict was self-inflicted
through negligence and disobedience. But some of the conflict arose from forces
outside David’s sphere of influence or control. All of which speaks to a world
that is wrecked relationally. Sadly, the sin of humanity puts God’s followers into
conflict with God, with other people, and within ourselves. David’s life shines
a spotlight on the relational conflict we continually face. But the once
shepherd boy provides us some insightful conduct that modern-day believers
should observe and follow.
David, the man after God’s own heart, was a man knit to God’s
Word. And thus he found the strength to carry on even when all his future appeared
bleak. David led a band of some six-hundred men, along with wives and children,
through backwoods, caves, and enemy territories to survive day after day. He
understood that each day was enough trouble of its own so it was best to give
the one, true God each day, and let the Lord settle future matters in His divine
plan. David was presented many opportunities to compromise his standards and
abandon God, but, for the most part, he chose to believe in the Lord, no matter
how misplaced his confidence seemed on the surface. The underlying message is that
we, as God’s followers, need to serve the Lord each day and entrust Him with tomorrow.
May the Creator of heaven and earth give us the confidence to carry through our
days, and help us joyfully engage the chaos of conflict.
No comments:
Post a Comment