What Can Man Do To Me?

 With a kill order on David’s life, he became a fugitive from Saul. It had taken some time for this to sink in for David because Saul was a strange guy. Did he really want to kill his son-in-law and his best commander, who had achieved remarkable success against his enemies? Yes! Saul wanted David dead. David felt Saul’s presence looking for him no matter where he went, so he decided to leave his country.

 The recklessness of this move into enemy territory demonstrates that He feared Saul more than the Philistines! David fled to Gath, the very city from which Goliath was from. Indeed, Saul would not look for him there. What was David thinking? David had been fighting the Philistines and became known as a fearless fighter.

David seriously underestimated the possibility of being known in Gath. His attempt to hide failed. He was recognized and captured almost immediately by Achish’s men and reported to the Philistine king. They asked Achish, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? The writer of first Samuel records, “David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath” (1 Sam 21:11-12). 

Sometime later, David wrote Psalm 56, which records his thoughts and feelings during this time.

Psalms 56:1-2 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack. My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.

Ps 56:5-6 All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life. David’s escape from Achish was a matter of daring wit and cunning.David’s escape from Achish was a matter of daring wit and cunning.

David was as good as dead, captured by the Philistines and standing before the king. David immediately pretended to be insane; he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors and letting saliva run down his beard (1 Sam 21:13). It was a hysterical act of scraping the door with his nails and teeth. However,  the king saw no threat in this man and instead felt disgust and pity, and they let him go.

David gave God the credit for delivering him from certain death: “For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life (Ps 56:13).

Will I Trust God?

Our greatest challenge is trusting God with all our needs. There is an Old Testament story about facing a crisis that addresses this important issue, “Will I trust God with each crisis or not?” The answer to that question is critical to the success of our Christian experience. It is a tough thing to trust God. It’s not natural. Most of us are inclined to trust our instincts and be guided by our experience. We often have to suspend logic and even our desire for comfort to trust God. Here is the story summarized from 2 Kings 4:1-7.

A poor widow went to the prophet Elisha for help because of her dire situation. It was so bad her sons would be taken to pay her debts. Elisha asked, “What do you have in your house?” She replied, “Nothing really, except a little oil.” Elisha instructed her to gather all the jars she could get her hands on, including borrowing from her neighbors. Then, the prophet said to fill up each jar with her oil. She did as he had directed; she began pouring, and the oil flowed until every jar filled. She could sell the oil, pay the debts, and live on the proceeds.

Most of us minimize our gifts as this lady did. There is no challenge too big for God. By the same token, God’s gifts are not measured by big and little, great or small. God used one small stone in David’s hand to bring Goliath down and one boy’s lunch to feed five thousand. “I have nothing except a little oil” describes our scarcity mentality. God’s solution not only supplied the need but was also meant to teach the woman to not despise what she had.

God wanted this lady and her sons to expand their faith. They would need more empty jars than they possessed. She was told to get as many as she could find. “Don’t ask for just a few,” the prophet said. When she had collected all the jars, she was to start pouring and not stop until every jar was filled. Once she had filled all the jars, the oil stopped flowing. This is the part that belongs to God. It is the miraculous. It is the part where having done our part, God then does the rest. My question is, “Can you trust God to meet your needs?” God can do anything, but we must trust him and not despise the gifts he has already given us.