Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”
And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
– 1 Samuel 21:8-15
Devotion
In contrast to his previous demonstrations of faith, David’s fear drove him to run away from Saul. Ironically, he fled to the Philistine city of Gath holding the very sword of Goliath, who came from that city! David must have felt like a hypocrite; the mighty man of God, who slew one of Israel’s greatest enemies from Gath, was now fleeing for his life to the very town that sought to destroy him. Even more, he pretended to be insane because of his fear once the Philistines recognized him. This mighty man of God was reduced to a hypocritical, fearful traitor.
Like David, we can often forget the great victories that God has brought about in our past and begin to question his plans. When things get tough, do we remember that God is unshakeable and all powerful, or do we put limits on God’s influence in our lives and turn instead in fear? If David had looked back to his past victories and remembered the faithfulness of God, he might have been able to save himself much humiliation and discomfort in the process.
The Big Question
What victories in the past have you celebrated as a result of God’s goodness? How can this help you face the current difficulties in your life? Will you react in faith or fear?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.