“And David said in his heart, ‘Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul’”
1 Samuel 27:1
Fear had taken hold of David during a very traumatic period in his life and it caused him to come to a hasty and mistaken conclusion. It happened during the time when King Saul was seeking to kill him out of jealousy and David had become a fugitive, constantly on the run. But this was not like the David who earlier had fearlessly gone out against the giant Goliath to do battle. On that occasion David said, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it… The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:34-35, 37).
What happened? Why was David so filled with fear and despair this time while being chased by Saul? You might answer that it was because he was mentally, physically and emotionally drained, and indeed he was! David was on the run and had faced one peril after another with Saul in hot pursuit. And it was not only Saul who was David’s enemy. The Ziphites had on at least two occasions betrayed his presence to Saul. When Saul was at Gibeah, the Ziphites said, “Is not David hiding with us… Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand” (1 Samuel 23:19,20). It all seemed to be closing in around David and he reasoned that Saul would finally prevail in the end.
Isn’t it true though that the real root of David’s fear was his unbelief in God’s delivering hand? Yes, God had exposed him to many severe trials, but on no one occasion had God ever deserted His servant. David had no cause to think that God would finally abandon him. On every occasion, the same God who had sent the trial was the same One who always provided the way of escape. Earlier, when he faced Goliath, David correctly reasoned that the same God who helped him overcome the bear and the lion would protect him against the uncircumcised Philistine who defied the armies of the Living God (verse 26). David should have reasoned the same way this time, arguing with himself from what God had already accomplished for him, and concluding therefore that God would continue to be his defender.
Don’t we sometimes behave the same way, doubting God’s deliverance of us from our afflictions and trials? We so easily forget His keeping of us through the many trials that have gone before. Thus, to doubt God is to doubt without a just cause. But can a true Christian ever recount an instance when God failed them? Are you able to look back on your life and doubt His goodness to you? Has He once forsaken you? Indeed God’s word is filled with many great and precious promises such as, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5), and “For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
God will bring many trials into the life of a believer, but He will be with us to the end. Remember, “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:22-25). Thus, as God’s covenantal children, the grounds for our waiting upon Him for deliverance is His unfailing protection of us in the past. And all of God’s promises to us are “Yes” in Jesus Christ who purchased us with His precious blood at the cross that He might possess us as His beloved church and His cherished bride.
Away with unbelief! Never reason with yourself contrary to the evidence of God’s unfailing love to His own beloved children. The hymnwriter Fanny Crosby put it this way,
All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
1 Samuel 27:1
Fear had taken hold of David during a very traumatic period in his life and it caused him to come to a hasty and mistaken conclusion. It happened during the time when King Saul was seeking to kill him out of jealousy and David had become a fugitive, constantly on the run. But this was not like the David who earlier had fearlessly gone out against the giant Goliath to do battle. On that occasion David said, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it… The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:34-35, 37).
What happened? Why was David so filled with fear and despair this time while being chased by Saul? You might answer that it was because he was mentally, physically and emotionally drained, and indeed he was! David was on the run and had faced one peril after another with Saul in hot pursuit. And it was not only Saul who was David’s enemy. The Ziphites had on at least two occasions betrayed his presence to Saul. When Saul was at Gibeah, the Ziphites said, “Is not David hiding with us… Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand” (1 Samuel 23:19,20). It all seemed to be closing in around David and he reasoned that Saul would finally prevail in the end.
Isn’t it true though that the real root of David’s fear was his unbelief in God’s delivering hand? Yes, God had exposed him to many severe trials, but on no one occasion had God ever deserted His servant. David had no cause to think that God would finally abandon him. On every occasion, the same God who had sent the trial was the same One who always provided the way of escape. Earlier, when he faced Goliath, David correctly reasoned that the same God who helped him overcome the bear and the lion would protect him against the uncircumcised Philistine who defied the armies of the Living God (verse 26). David should have reasoned the same way this time, arguing with himself from what God had already accomplished for him, and concluding therefore that God would continue to be his defender.
Don’t we sometimes behave the same way, doubting God’s deliverance of us from our afflictions and trials? We so easily forget His keeping of us through the many trials that have gone before. Thus, to doubt God is to doubt without a just cause. But can a true Christian ever recount an instance when God failed them? Are you able to look back on your life and doubt His goodness to you? Has He once forsaken you? Indeed God’s word is filled with many great and precious promises such as, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5), and “For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
God will bring many trials into the life of a believer, but He will be with us to the end. Remember, “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:22-25). Thus, as God’s covenantal children, the grounds for our waiting upon Him for deliverance is His unfailing protection of us in the past. And all of God’s promises to us are “Yes” in Jesus Christ who purchased us with His precious blood at the cross that He might possess us as His beloved church and His cherished bride.
Away with unbelief! Never reason with yourself contrary to the evidence of God’s unfailing love to His own beloved children. The hymnwriter Fanny Crosby put it this way,
All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?