We'd Be Better Off There?

1 Samuel 27:1 KJV

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

One of the great testimonials as to the divine origin of the Bible is that it tells the embarrassing stories of its heroes as well as the glorious ones. David was in so many ways godly.

• He meditated upon the things of the Lord
• When things got very difficult he would write psalms that were inspired of very God
• He trusted the Lord in troublesome circumstances

But David was, after all, a man. And in this passage we see a lapse of faith that is difficult to grip unless we remember he is just a man. Just one chapter previous he told his men that they were not to touch the Lord's anointed. He knew that God would deal with Saul in His own way and time

• He would get sick, or
• He would die in battle or
• Something else would happen

but David was not about to take matters into his own hands.

But here, in despair, David began to think that sooner or later Saul would be successful in his hunt against him and he would be better off risking himself among the Philistines.

I expect that most Christians have felt like that at some time. Though God has sustained them so far, yet there are so many enemies confronting them from so many directions that it is only a matter of time before they give in to them; they might as well give now.

Though I cannot be certain what my future on earth holds I can say today that my desire is to learn from David what not to do.

• I don't want to give in
• I don't want to leave my faith
• I don't want to change my convictions. I believe they are from God

• What I want to do is trust God more and more
• What I want to do is spend still more time with Him and in His Word
• What I want to do is urge even more to follow the Lord with me

It is a blessing to think ahead in David's life and see that it was not too late for him to return to the course God set for him. This lapse of faith did not negate God's plan for him and neither do ours negate God's plan for us. All we have to do is, like David, return.