Daily Devotional for Tuesday, August 8

David and the Pagan

“And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath,"

1 Samuel 21:13.

First, he ran from Saul in fear of his life.  Now he was in Gath and very afraid of Achish the pagan king.  Nowhere seemed safe. Saul didn’t know his heart and Achish was misinformed about his status.  Achish assumed he was the King of Israel based on the reports his servants gave him.  David had to be feeling very persecuted at this point and it is certain that all who live Godly will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). 

The suffering that comes on God’s child can come from two sources.  It can come as persecution from evil men who “wax worse and worse” (2 Timothy 3:3), or it can come because we have done what is not good (1 Peter 3:17). If we suffer for righteousness’ sake, we should be glad because the world hated Jesus and He clearly told us that the world would hate us too (John 15:18, Luke 6:22).

The extreme of David’s situation is illustrated in the fact that he would flee to the city of Gath and seek protection there. The giant Goliath had hailed from the city of Gath and David had cut that great champion’s head off not too many years before. It is hard to believe that David would go there so he must have been desperate.

Often, we do crazy things when we are desperate.  We take matters into our own hand that we ought to leave in God’s hands. When we do this, the result is not usually a better situation.    David must have come to understand that he was better off in the hand of God. In Psalm 31, he prays “My times are in thy hand: Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.”

THOUGHT: Are you trying to get out of this situation on your own or have placed it in God’s mighty hand?

David Thompson