When Panic Prevails

I’ve been reading through 1 Samuel for the last few weeks. I’m taking my time, slowly going through the chapters. As per usual God’s word is so rich that I find myself overwhelmed (in a good way) with the relevance of His word. This morning I read chapter 21. Very familiar yet fresh with personal challenge. David is on the run from Saul and he just had to say goodbye to his closest friend Jonathan. This marks the beginning of about 10-12 years in Davids life fleeing from Saul who has dug his heels in attempting to murder David. During this time David wrote many of the Psalms of which we gain comfort and encouragement.

David’s life is marked by extreme high’s and devastating low’s. We read a few chapters earlier of his unlikely anointing from Samuel. The last of all the sons of Jesse is called in from the field and yet here stands God’s choice as future king and shepherd of the nation Israel. Next we see him as the unlikely warrior taking on Goliath. When God’s people are shaking in their boots, David steps up to the plate with full faith in the name of the Lord of hosts and defeats the giant. But here in chapter 21 we reach a point in David’s life where we might wonder if this is truly the same person. So begins the testing of the man of God.

David’s escape from Saul leads to lying in one moment and posing and a madman in the next. Out of fear and uncertainty David’s resorts to his flesh. In an attempt to save his skin David used three self- preserving tactics as a result of taking his eyes off of the Lord. He lied, he found refuge in the camp of the ungodly Philistines then he acted as though he was insane. By resorting to deception and what he thought was quick wittedness, David allowed panic to prevail rather than remembering the faithfulness of God in times past.

As Alan Redpath said, “It’s so easy to lose 20/20 spiritual vision through the threatining clouds of trouble.” Little did David consider what terrible pain others would experience as a result of his choices. Not only that, the harm he would bring to the name of the Lord.

This is a difficult reality for all who would determine to follow the Lord! God allows some circumstances to come into our lives to test the metal of our faith. He allows the seeming contradictions to accomplish what would never be achieved if the path were always smooth.

Have we resorted to fear, dishonesty and even looking to the ungodlyworld for safety? Let’s learn that when panic prevails the whole landscape of our lives becomes distorted. Faith is never about what we see or make sense of. Let’s not allow fear of our problems become more real to us than the presence of the Lord and reality of His promises.

One of my favorite verses that was penned by none other than David himself, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” Ps 27:13

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