When Following Isn't Simple.
Remember when God’s will was clear? There was a time when God called you to preach, or to pastor, or to be a pastor's wife, or a church leader. There was a time when you said, “That's what God wants me to do.” And you assumed, since God was commanding it, it would be simple. And now, it seems anything but simple. Maybe sometimes you wonder if you were mistaken.
David, son of Jesse, found himself in a similar situation. The prophet Samuel anointed David as King of Israel. His call was clear. God was going to make him king. He only had to follow God’s leading. Simple, right? Let me remind you of just how simple his path really was…
- After David is anointed, he is invited to play and sing for the king, Saul, who has an evil spirit.
- He defeats Goliath. The people are singing songs about him. Can you imagine how hard it would be to keep your feet on the ground when you're listening to that?
- He makes a covenant with Jonathan. They become amazing friends, for the rest of Jonathan's life.
- Then Saul tries to kill him with a spear. Not once, but twice. Remember, David was just in the field with the sheep, and God said he’s going to reign. Sounds great! And now he's dodging spears that are thrown by the king.
- He marries Saul's daughter.
- Then Saul tries again to kill him, and he has to escape through a window for fear of his life. - Jonathan helps him, and Jonathan is almost killed.
- David runs for his life, again.
- As he's fleeing, he stops to ask some priests for bread for himself and his men.
- He goes from there to Gath. where he becomes afraid that the Philistines are going to kill him. So, he begins to fake insanity, scratching on the walls and drooling. It works. The Philistines chase him away.
- So, he hides in a cave.
- Saul finds out from Doeg, the Edomite, that the priests had helped David. So, Saul calls the priests in and has 85 of them killed.
- David delivers Keilah from the Philistines, and then immediately finds out that the people of that town will gladly turn him over to Saul if they have the chance.
- So, he runs for his life, again.
- He's in a cave and Saul comes in to go to the bathroom. David is tempted to kill Saul. But he refuses, choosing to let God deal with him.
- Next, he's mistreated by a guy named Nabal. David decides he's going to destroy Nabal, but he’s stopped by Nabal's wife, Abigail. She urges David to trust God to deal with Nabal. He listens to her. A few days later, Nabal dies. David marries Abigail.
- David gets another chance to kill Saul while he's asleep. But, again, he doesn't do it.
He is afraid, again, and runs back to Philistia. This time he pretends that he's helping the Philistines, while instead he's really helping Israel.
- As they are going to battle, the Philistine commanders express their distrust for David and make him leave. So, he doesn't have to go into battle against Israel. All the way through David’s story, you see God’s providence.
- When David and his men get home, they find that their village has been burned. Their wives and kids have been kidnapped by the Amalekites. God helps David rescue the women and children.
- Israel loses in battle to the Philistines. Saul is killed. His sons are killed, too, including Jonathan, David's best friend in the world.
All this is on the way to David becoming king. God called him. He promised to make him king. And it was hard. Really hard! Sometimes, it was because of people who meant to harm David. Other times, he acted in unbelief and made mistakes. It wasn’t simple, ever. It was hard. But God was always in control.
This same David writes about his experience in Psalm 138. He says a lot, but I just want to point out three helpful parts of David’s prayer. (Psalm 138:7-8, ESV)
- “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life;”
David acknowledges that the way is hard, but depends on God to get him through.
- “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.”
Because David knows of God’s love, he trusts his way to God and praises Him.
- “Do not forsake the work of your hands.”
Even as David expresses faith, he cries out to God for mercy and grace.
Christian Leader, if you find the way is hard, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve missed the path. It may mean that you, like David, are exactly on the path to God’s perfect will for your life! Psalm 138:7-8 is a great example of how to pray along the way.
Depend on God. Trust Him. Praise Him. Cry out to Him.
He’s faithful!