Machelle McDowell
May 20, 2021
(I Samuel 20:35-40)
This passage reflects a crucial time in David’s life. These (3) arrows mentioned carried the message of his future and like a flip of a dime, David became the target. He was now a walking bulls eye for Saul.
Life is fragile like that. With just a flip of a coin, our trajectory can be changed by (1) lapse of judgment, (1) moment in the wrong place, (1) bad influence, (1) wrong decision. Life can turn on a dime!
It has happened to all of us. David finds himself in a new chapter of his life that leaves him questioning. What about his anointing? What about when Samuel told him he would be king one day? He has gone from living in the palace to hiding in a cave. His followers are now misfits. He is not the hunter but the hunted. How did he get there?
How often do we find ourselves asking this question? How did I get here and where am I going?
I am certain, David asked these questions many times. The road ahead did not look promising, but he knew in his heart it was the road God had lead him to, but now he has doubt. Why has this happened?
I find it so uplifting to know God oftentimes sends people who are greatly used by him down paths that are bleak for a time.
Let’s reflect on the life of Job. What a disaster, but in the end his blessing outweighed his trial. Same thing for Paul, Moses, Abraham, Joseph, the list could fill this page! With that being said, there is hope, my friend!
So, we can look at this period in the life of David as training. Yes, he attended the school of hard knocks, but he comes out victorious! His anointing as king when he was a child did not wash away. He was being groomed and molded into a man after God’s own heart.
Let God empty you out! (Redpath) said it best: “A throne is God’s purpose for you; a cross is God’s path for you; faith is God’s plan for you.” David is learning to submit to God through this dark times in his life. David needed to realize that life flips on a dime and God’s authority and guidance is mandatory!
The best leaders are the ones who are humble enough to know they are not enough by themselves. The ones who realize God is their ultimate authority. David is learning a valuable tool as he spends months in a dark cave with a group of misfits as his support. Funny thing: God sent the misfits! They too were seeking answers in life that only God could answer and used David to teach them.
God led David to act like a king, even though he wasn’t yet. David began to inquire of God on every decision! And God does deliver him from Saul. David does go on to become king.
Has your life flipped on a dime? Do you find yourself hiding in a dark cave? Maybe you had a weak moment, a lapse in good judgment, or maybe you found yourself in the wrong group of people and all of the sudden you are sucked into something you can’t find your way out of.
God loved the fact that even when David committed some serious sin he was truly repentant and realized he was unworthy and undeserving of God’s love, but God shows no favoritism. He loved David back into his good graces. And, he can love you there too!
God’s love and goodness is often shown when He delivers us when we don’t deserve it!
David writes (filled with gratitude) for God in In Psalm 34:1-4 “I will bess the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Call out friend, He hears you and He will deliver you!