As I finish 1 Samuel in my daily Bible reading, I find it intriguing that David faced many hardships while Saul pursued him. He was a man who stared death at every corner. Yet David put his trust in the Lord. When Saul pursued, he trusted God. Listen to how David describes his situation to his friend, Jonathan, Saul’s son:
“But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” (1 Samuel 20:3 ESV).
Have you felt this way at times? “There is but a step between me and death?” Perhaps not literally, but we all have felt the grip of adversity squeeze around us as it seems that there is but a step between us and disaster.
Yet David put his trust in the Lord and let the Lord lead him through the valleys of death that he walked through. It even got to a point where David had to find refuge in the midst of the enemies of God’s people to keep away from Saul. But even in the midst of the enemies, God was with David.
God does not promise immediate deliverance to us when we call upon Him, but He does promise His strengthening hand and His presence as He walks with us during times of trial. Look at all the ways that the Lord preserved David as he fled the presence of Saul:
God spared David from taking revenge upon foolish Nabal in 1 Samuel 25 through the wise council of Abigail.
God kept David from dying at the hands of the Philistines in 1 Samuel 27.
When God passed judgment upon Saul and was going to deliver his family and the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines, God ensured that David was distracted with his own mission so he would not be forced to lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed or to fight against the Lord when judgment was carried out by God against Saul (1 Samuel 30).
And when David’s men thought about stoning him when the enemies took their wives and children, God strengthened David, kept all their families alive, and delivered a tremendous victory by David’s hand.
We read about all these things and think how encouraging and uplifting this must have been for David to witness the presence and deliverance of the Lord in all these ways. But when we feel that there is only a step between us and death, sometimes we must see the deliverance of the Lord in hindsight to truly appreciate it.
But when we experience adversity in real-time, we often fight feelings of hopelessness, discouragement, depression, and uncertainty. These are natural responses to intense trials. We don’t have to get far into the Psalms to see that these are some of the same feelings that David wrestled with as well,
But in the midst of these overwhelming struggles, David never forgot God and allowed God to shoulder his burdens. And sometimes David had to wake up day after day for years before God finally removed his adversity. Yet, these moments were not a waste for David.
It was during the times of wrestling with adversity that David learned how to trust in the Lord. During these times when there was a step between David and death, David learned how to be the king that God was raising him up to be.
I am convinced that God never allows His children to suffer adversity for no reason. We may never understand what the reasons are, but they are there and this is where our trust in the Lord comes in. Whether it is to produce patience or to prepare us for another phase in our service to Him, all suffering is profitable to us in some way.
And this is sometimes tough to believe, especially when we are in the midst of walking with God in the valley of the shadow of death. Yet our faith is seen when we believe God but we can’t see the reasons; when we trust Him as we step into the precipice and not see where our feet will fall.
It’s not a fun place to be when there is only a step between us and death, but God lives fully in that step. That is what David learned and it shaped him into one of the greatest servants that we ever read about. And if we see God in the step between us and death, then we will be transformed in ways we can hardly imagine.
What a wonderful God we serve who never leaves or forsakes us, even in the step between us and death.
I’m in 2 Samuel, reading how God is giving David victories over his enemies.
No matter what his enemies do or how many times they gang up on David, God gives David the victory.
And with the victories come spoils. And much of those spoils go into storage to build the Temple of God.
Isn’t it amazing how much God does for us and how little things are left up to us?
God expects us to live faithfully, but He will give us the increase. He is always the source of every good blessing.
If Jesus returned in the next 5 minutes, would you be full of regret, or would you be found watching and waiting?
You still have time to prepare for His return.
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13 ESV).
Don’t you just feel good after coming home from spending time with God’s people?
David had a bad day.
A really bad day.
In 2 Samuel 15, we read about his son, Absalom, attempting to take his throne away.
Some may understand Absalom’s actions. He killed his oldest half-brother because his brother violated his sister, Tamar.
When David heard about this despicable act, he became angry but did nothing.
I wonder how events might have changed if David had been the father he should have been concerning the sins of his son.
But as Nathan had decreed from God, the sword would not depart from David’s house because David had murdered Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, and took his wife to be his own wife.
And so, David’s sins opened the door to this rebellion. God would not stop it.
Even when we repent and turn back to the Lord, we may have to walk with the Lord through the consequences of our sins.
We need to be careful not to equate consequences to guilt, for when the Lord forgives, He forgives completely.
When sin causes us to have a bad day, we need to draw all the closer to God and let Him walk with us in that day, and not let the consequences we may have to face be the stumbling block that shipwrecks our faith.
God delivered David from the hand of Absalom, but not until after David had to endure many tears before his deliverance.
Suggestion to consider for the day:
First, let us glorify King Jesus by serving someone today.
Then, let us bring petitions for ourselves before His throne.
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40 ESV).
I am really trying to live by the philosophy of assuming the best in people and not the worst; giving them the benefit of the doubt even with the slightest evidence it’s warranted. That changes the internal battles we often fight in our minds.
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV).