Where do you want to go when the rest of the world seems to be trying to “pin you to the wall”? Where should you go when your heart, mind, body and/or soul is under brutal attack?
The first place Davidgoes is probably where each of us wants to go in times likes this: Home! I can’t think of anything worse then having “home” NOT be a comforting, safe place to go. That is exactly what Saul did to David. Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. (1Samuel 19:11)
So much for Saul’s vow “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” (1 Samuel 19:6) He had spies staked out around David’s house with the intent that when he left home in the morning, these “guns for hire” were to assassinate David. They obviously weren’t very good at hiding, because David knew they were there. Can you imagine peaking out the window and seeing assassins lurking in the shadows?
What do or would you do if you knew someone was out to get you? The most logical thing that comes to my mind is gather all the resources and support we can find to defend ourselves. The second, most logical thing is to get out of there NOW!
We discover from the introduction of Psalm 59 that wasn’t David’s first response. Instead he retreated into the presence of His God where he poured out his heart in raw honesty. For the director of music. [To the tune of] “ Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. The meaning of miktam comes from the verb meaning “to cover.” It is understood to refer to a private prayer or psalm recited silently or with hands covering one’s mouth. Psalm 59 is not a pretty Psalm. We’ve lost the tune, but we can rightly assume it was rather gloomy. It is sad and mad and desperate. It is brutally honest. I love it.
God knows what filled David’s mind and heart. He knows what fills ours. He understands we need to work through all the “feels” to get to the place where He can fill our hearts with His comfort and strength. David goes where we need to go when we are under attack and may or may not know where to go and what to do: Go to God.
Deliver me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from bloodthirsty men. See how they lie in wait for me! Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, O LORD. I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight! O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, rouse Yourself to punish all [these heathens]; show no mercy to wicked traitors.
They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. See what they spew from their mouths— they spew out swords from their lips, and they say, “Who can hear us?” But you, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all those [heathens]. O my Strength, I watch for You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God. God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me. But do not kill them, O Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In your might make them wander about, and bring them down. For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter, consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob.
They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied. But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God. Psalms 59NIV
I’ve highlighted in bold print David’s radical choice of focus. He knew what happens when you “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:2) The God he called “my Strength … my fortress … my refuge … my loving God” puts the threat into perspective. His God is bigger. His God is stronger. His God is able. His God is there. They planned murder in the morning; he planned worship.
The New American Standard translation of verse 9 conveys something missed in the New International translation: “Because of his strength (lower case “h” - maybe the assassin, but probably King Saul) I will watch for You, for God is my stronghold.” What does his/her/their strength make you do? Does their apparent strength make you run to God or cower in fear or dread? Truthfully, they and/or the situation look menacing, but:
- My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (John 10:29) Let me repeat that: My Father is greater than all – all their weapons, all their power, all their threats, all their slander, all their vicious victories to date.
- Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”(1 John 4:4)
- If God is for us, who is [it that is] against us? (Romans 8:31)
Do you REALLY believe that your Heavenly Father, your God, “is greater than all?” Not just quote it – not just know it, but really truly BELIEVE it? How can you tell? Threats prompt faith and running to God, rather than fear and running away or running off our mouths or running unarmed into battle to protect and defend ourselves. What you truly believe determines where or to what or whom you run.
When heart, mind, body and/or soul is under attack, the first place we MUST go is to our God. Actually, when under attack, the first place we go is to our god. Question is: Who or what is your god/God?
Going to his God may have been enough for David, but even Michal knew it was prudent for David to get out of town. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped.(1 Samuel 19:12)
Let me add a side note here about Michal. She was David’s wife, but she was also Saul’s daughter, not just by birth but her father’s daughter in so many ways: manipulative, untrustworthy, power-hungry and rebellious, are just a few of their shared characteristics. She couldn’t be more unlike her brother Jonathan. Yet God used her to save David’s life.
I’m not going to sugarcoat anything that Michal does. When her father confronted her for helping David escape, she lied and made things worse for David. “Saul stormed at Michal: “How could you play tricks on me like this? You sided with my enemy, and now he’s gotten away!” Michal said, “He threatened me. He said, ‘Help me out of here or I’ll kill you.’” (1 Samuel 19:17 The Message) What impact do you think that had on Saul’s all ready tainted opinion of David? She made him out to be the bad guy. She handed Saul more fuel for his hatred.Now he hadto flee and escape not only spearsand assassins, but alsolies.Her actions may have temporarily helped her husband, but her words inflicted far greaterharm.
Back to our original question: Where to from here? Where should we go when heart, mind, body and/or soul is under ruthless attack? The first place is: God. The second is where we can get our bearings, reestablish our footing and firmly reset the anchor of our faith. The storm that is testing our faith is still raging. We need to make sure it firmly set in Christ.
David could have gone off by himself and done some serious soul-searching. We all need to do this periodically. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5NIV) One important thing that must be appraised is whether or not we have brought this mess upon ourselves. We need to make sure that we are not “suffering wrong for doing wrong.” (2 Pet. 2:13) Look what David wrote in Psalm 7:3-5. “O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands, if I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.” In this situation David was confident that “fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, O LORD. I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.” (Psa. 59:3,4)
Self-appraisal is a godly discipline. However, when everything in life seems to contradict what you thought following God means, when you are like David: confused, exhausted, emotionally caught up in the drama and trauma of recent events, you need someone to help make sure you are on the right path, reset your footing and encourage you in the Lord. Who can you go to help you reset your anchor?
For David this meant seeking out Samuel. Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. (1Samuel 19:18)
Why Samuel? What do you think David needed to hear from Samuel? Samuel was the one who had told him that he would someday be king. He was the one who had anointed him when he was content to be shepherd. I believe David needed to hear again that God had a plan and purpose for his life. We don’t know what David and Samuel discussed. Though David told Samuel “all that Saul had done to him,” I really don’t think the discussion was about Saul, but about how David should handled it and how to move forward in a way that honored and glorified God. I wish we had the words of encouragement this now ancient man of God had for David. They were private words. They were just the right words.
We don’t know what was said, but we do know what Samuel did: he took David to Naioth. Archeologists have found its ruins with its unique maze-like layout. It would be a perfect place to hide David, but I don’t think that is the reason Samuel took him there. Naioth is where Samuel oversaw a school of prophets – a seminary. There David got to be with young men studying God’s word, listening to God and speaking His truth. He spent time with fellow believers with a passion for God.
When Saul found out David was there, David got to see God work as the Holy Spirit hijacked, not one but three, groups of “messengers” sent by Saul on a murder mission, then Saul himself, and they started worshipping and declaring truths about an amazing God. You have to love God’s power and sense of humor. (see 1 Samuel 19:19-24)
Why do you think God did all this while David stood there and watched? How would it have impacted you?
What a wonderful reminder that God is in control. God is unlimited in how He can and will work. In this case He made ungodly men do something identifiably godly to thwart their ungodly intent. I would have given them a spirit of confusion that sent them the wrong direction or made them blind, or zapped them with lightening, etc. But God used them to proclaim His message and truth. I have to wonder if those prophetic words being spoken by students, messengers, even Saul, were just what David needed to hear. God stills works and speaks through the unexpected for our sake. We need only to stand in the doorway with open ears of faith and listen.
We need to get on the same page as God. Romans12:21tells us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” That is exactly what God did with three bands of messengers and Saul himself. Awareness of evil or even the possibility, should prompt us to pray that the Holy Spirit might come upon them mightily and their ungodliness be transformed into unmistakable godliness. Do you believe God can truly do just that? Do you pray like it?
David saw God at work. Unfortunately he also saw how serious Saul was in his intent to assassinate him. Which brings us to the next place we need to go when heart, mind, body and/or soul is being threatened: the embrace of a trusted encouraging friend. “Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?”(1 Samuel 20:1)
Interestingly, this is usually where we flee first. There is a tendency when we are hurting and angry to seek out our peers and friends. We want answers. Usually the question is NOT “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin?” like David asked Jonathan. It is: What’s their problem? Looking to add to our stockpile of spears to defend ourselves. Or, what do you think I should I do? When we ask that question, that is the answer we will get: what they think. What we need to know is what they think God would have us do? We need to ask accordingly.
I am in no way belittling the value of friends. They love us. They care. They want what is best for us – sometimes they actually know what that is. Sometimes our friend is the spiritual mentor we wisely seek. For David, Jonathan definitely qualifies as both a spiritual mentor and friend. We are blessed when we have a Jonathan in our lives.
Order matters here: God, spiritual mentor who will speak God’s truth and help us reset the anchor of our faith, and then our trusted encouraging friend. Why? When our heart, mind, body and/or soul is being ruthlessly attacked, what we need most is God – not answers, not a strategy, just God, my Strength, my fortress, my loving God.
“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”(Psalm 40:2NIV) Start there, get it reinforced through godly counsel, encouragement and support, and when God is ready to give us answers and the next thing to do, we are ALL IN and ready, even if it isn’t what we hope.
