"When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there." (1 Samuel 19:18 NIV)
In today’s reading, we note how David took his interpersonal issues straight to God. What emotional maturity David displayed! When he was hurting, and even afraid for his life, he didn’t skip services or hide out in his home: instead he stepped closer to the living God and bared his heart.
I keep reading about what a hard time this is for Americans. Nationally, we are struggling under the weight of a post-pandemic world. And then I look at David and see a man who took his problems directly to the priest. Why is it that our national church attendance is still suffering? Do we not understand that the resolution and refuge for our problems is found in our relationship with God? As the world deteriorates, we could be pulling closer to God, rather than moving further from Him. Of course, our priest or pastor is not the solution, but the man or woman of God is well-acquainted with the One who can solve all our problems. We can certainly direct you toward Him.
I love how Samuel responded to David’s litany of concerns. Do you see it in scripture?
"Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul's men, and they also prophesied." (1 Samuel 19:19-20 NIV)
Samuel led David deeper into the things of God. They went together to Naioth, a place scholars believe hosted a school of prophets. By the time Saul’s men showed up, David was already fully engaged with the worshipers and utterly protected by the power of God. When the captors came close, they fell into the move of God already underway. Saul sent two more delegations, and the same thing happened twice more. Finally, Saul himself arrived on the scene but he, too, could not get any further along in his destructive agenda. Even evil old Saul succumbed to the presence of God.
I see a couple amazing things in this scripture:
When trouble arises, we have a choice. We can run toward God or away from Him. We take our troubles upward, not sideways. David went straight to Samuel, his spiritual advisor. After Samuel listened, he led David in worship. David’s engagement in worship was so profound that he literally disappeared in the text. David was consumed — preoccupied with his own encounter and oblivious to the bad guys coming to do bad things. Carried away in wholehearted worship, David experienced divine protection and provision.
What if we responded to our troubles in this manner? If we let our difficulties tug us closer to the heart of God instead of further from Him?
David was able to take his personal hardship and wring something sweet from it. He gained crucial Kingdom understanding in his days with the prophets. He let the worst of his life lead him to the best of God. I suspect David treasured his experiences with Samuel’s students for the rest of his days. His time with the prophets trained his soul for the exile that was coming.
Friend, we cannot afford to waste seasons of suffering. Our personal hardships present unique and limited opportunities to learn something new and pertinent about our God. When fear and frustration hit, we handle it best by running to the throne room with our feelings in hand, ready to release them into God’s presence. Reach out to your Samuel; call your pastor or spiritual parents. Ask them to pray and worship with you. Give them time and space to teach you something deeper about the heart of God. And put that hard-won knowledge in your pocket for future seasons. Let pain pull you closer in the Kingdom, not propel you further from it.
"But You, Sovereign Lord, help me for Your name's sake' out of the goodness of Your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me." (Psalm of David, 109:21-22 NIV)
Lord, let us go to You with our hurts and hangups. Like David, we want to run into Your presence when our problems pursue us. May we be open to a deeper understanding of Your Kingdom. Use our challenges to equip us for the things you to come. Help us learn to worship and pray through our troubles and trials. Amen.