1 Samuel 27:1-7: a reflection

1David said in his heart, “I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So I will escape out of his hand.” 2David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife. 4Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, so he stopped looking for him. 5David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day. 7The number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

In a low moment of failing faith, David, worn down by Saul's relentless pursuit, says in his heart that he will one day perish by Saul's hand, and out of this fear flees to take refuge among the Philistines, Israel's enemies. David said in his heart, I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul, the account records; there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines. This is David, the man of faith who had trusted God through so much; and yet here, worn down and afraid, his faith falters, and out of a despairing conclusion he takes a compromised course, fleeing to the enemy. Even a person of great faith can have moments of fear and failing trust. This shows that even the faithful can falter, letting fear lead to despairing conclusions and compromised paths. Even a person of great faith can have moments of failing trust. Fear can lead even the faithful to despairing conclusions. David, worn down and afraid, took a compromised course. Do not let fear drive you to despair and compromise.

Notice the failing of faith in this moment. David had trusted God through years of danger; God had protected him, delivered him, promised him the kingdom. But now, worn down by Saul's relentless pursuit, tired and afraid, David's faith falters. He says in his heart, I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul, a despairing conclusion that overlooks all of God's past protection and promises. And out of this fear and despair, he takes a compromised course, fleeing for refuge to the Philistines, the very enemies of God's people. This is a sobering and honest picture. Even David, a man of great faith, could have a low moment of failing trust, letting fear and weariness lead him to a despairing conclusion and a compromised path. This is both a caution and a comfort. It cautions us that even the faithful can falter, that fear and weariness can lead us to despairing conclusions and compromised choices, overlooking God's past faithfulness and promises. We do well to guard against letting fear drive us to despair and compromise. And it is also a comfort, for David's faltering was not the end; God continued to work in his life despite this low moment. Even our failures of faith are not final; God's faithfulness holds even when ours falters. Do not let fear and weariness lead you to despairing conclusions and compromise. Even the faithful can falter; guard against it, but do not despair if you do. Fear can make us overlook God's past faithfulness and promises. God's faithfulness holds even when ours falters.

That is worth taking to heart, for even the faithful can falter, letting fear lead to despairing conclusions and compromised paths, and we do well to guard against it, while trusting that God's faithfulness holds even when ours fails. We can let fear and weariness lead us to despairing conclusions, overlooking God's past faithfulness, and to compromised choices; but even David, a man of great faith, did this, fleeing to the enemy in a low moment. Even the faithful falter. Guard against letting fear drive you to despair and compromise; but if you falter, do not despair, for God's faithfulness holds even when ours fails. Guard against letting fear and weariness lead you to despairing conclusions and compromised paths, while trusting that God's faithfulness holds even when yours falters, as David, in a low moment of failing faith, worn down by Saul's relentless pursuit, said in his heart that he would one day perish by Saul's hand, and out of this fear fled to take refuge among the Philistines, Israel's enemies; for this is David, the man of faith who had trusted God through years of danger and been protected, delivered, and promised the kingdom, and yet here, worn down and afraid, his faith falters, and out of a despairing conclusion that overlooks all of God's past protection and promises he takes a compromised course, fleeing to the enemy, which is a sobering and honest picture, that even David, a man of great faith, could have a low moment of failing trust, letting fear and weariness lead him to despair and compromise, and this is both a caution, that even the faithful can falter and that fear and weariness can lead us to despairing conclusions and compromised choices overlooking God's faithfulness, so that we do well to guard against it, and a comfort, since David's faltering was not the end but God continued to work in his life despite this low moment, so that even our failures of faith are not final and God's faithfulness holds even when ours falters.

Lord, in a low moment of failing faith, David, worn down by Saul's relentless pursuit, says in his heart that he will one day perish by Saul's hand, and out of this fear flees to take refuge among the Philistines, Israel's enemies. David said in his heart, I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul, the account records; there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines. This is David, the man of faith who had trusted you through so much; and yet here, worn down and afraid, his faith falters, and out of a despairing conclusion he takes a compromised course, fleeing to the enemy. Even a person of great faith can have moments of fear and failing trust. Show me the failing of faith in this moment. David had trusted you through years of danger; you had protected him, delivered him, promised him the kingdom. But now, worn down and afraid, his faith falters. He says in his heart, I will now perish, a despairing conclusion that overlooks all of your past protection and promises. And out of this fear, he flees for refuge to the enemies of your people. This is a sobering and honest picture. Even David, a man of great faith, could have a low moment of failing trust, letting fear and weariness lead him to despair and compromise. This is both a caution and a comfort. It cautions me that even the faithful can falter, that fear and weariness can lead me to despairing conclusions and compromised choices, overlooking your past faithfulness. And it is also a comfort, for David's faltering was not the end; you continued to work in his life. Take that to my heart, for even the faithful can falter, and I do well to guard against it while trusting that your faithfulness holds even when mine fails. Keep me from letting fear and weariness lead me to despairing conclusions and compromised paths; and if I falter, keep me from despair, Lord, trusting that your faithfulness holds even when mine fails, as you continued to work in David's life despite his low moment.