Devotions

On the heels of his great sin, David prayed:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. . . Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:1-3, 9-10).

David’s sin took him farther from God’s face than he ever imagined he could travel. The greatest pain of his life came during his time away from God’s hand of blessing and favor. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his relationship with the One he loved the most.

“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (verses 11-12).

SEEKING GOD’S PURPOSE

David paid dearly for his sin, but he didn’t allow it to define him. When he came to his senses he cried out to God for forgiveness and God eagerly took him back; however, that didn’t erase the consequences his sin brought about.

If we knew the consequences of our sin before falling to temptation, how many of us would ever take that leap? If only we could see beforehand the harm that our sins eventually bring.

Living in the blessing of God demands that we seek the purpose He has set before us, looking to the future and calculating the cost of every decision. We must keep our eyes fixed firmly on His path and stay focused and true.

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run. 

When David sought God’s guidance after the catastrophe at Ziklag (see 1 Samuel 30:1-6), I believe he heard a voice behind him whispering, “This is the way, walk in it.” And, beloved, the same is true for us today.

There is an old uplifting gospel song entitled, “He Will Make a Way,” and our Lord does just that. You see, He has always had a plan in place for us and that plan is still at work even now through whatever turmoil we face.

WHAT TRULY MATTERS?

I’m convinced the word from God that David replayed over and over in his mind was, “You will recover all” (see 1 Samuel 30:8). David knew full well he wouldn’t recover his house in Ziklag nor would his soldiers recover their homes, their gardens, their possessions. Those material things were all gone, burned and destroyed. No, the all they were going to recover was the safety and security of their families.

All that David and his six hundred loyal men cared about was that their families — everything that truly mattered — were going to be safe. They may have had to live in tents with their wives and children after that. But God had assured them they were going to be secure.

FORGET THE “GOOD OLD DAYS”

Do you see the parallels to our own time? These men weren’t about to recover a past lifestyle. They weren’t about to return to the same quiet days that had been so peaceful before. Those “good old days” were now history — but they “recovered all” the important things.

 “And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away” (1 Samuel 30:18).

Every believer is challenged to stay in the Scriptures until the Holy Spirit makes God’s promises seem to jump off the pages to him or her personally. We can know when that happens because we will hear the still, small voice of the Spirit whispering: “This promise is yours. It is God’s Word given just to you, to see you through hard times.” I am convinced you can’t fight the battle of faith without hearing the assuring voice of the Lord to you.

HIS PERSONAL WORD

When David went down in defeat, he encouraged himself, got back his fight, and immediately acted in faith. When he got back his fighting spirit, he sent for something known as the ephod. This was a kind of garment that included two stones kept in the priest’s breastplate. On occasion God spoke through the ephod, and David was determined to get a word of direction from the Lord.

“David said to Abiathar the priest . . . I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?” (1 Samuel 30:7–8, my italics).

RECEIVING GOD’S DIRECTION

Consider what David did here. After he had wept, and after he had regained his fight, this man went directly to his knees. The Lord gave him the word of direction he needed:

“He answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all” (30:8, my italics).

God’s direction to David was, “Go forth. You will be victorious.” In other words: “Fight on!”

If your pastor’s sermons are anointed, they will produce life in you. The preaching of God’s Word will always encourage His saints. Likewise, corporate worship will lift you for a season. But how quickly we forget that uplift after a Sunday service is over. As Monday and Tuesday pass and the news begins to turn bad, we often fall back into fits of anxiety and fear.

GODLY COUNSEL

In normal times, I am able to draw advice from my godly wife, Gwen. She is always there to give me a good word — just what I need. I feel toward her the way David did when he said to Abigail, wife of Nabal: “See, I have hearkened to thy voice” (1 Samuel 25:35). But things can be different in calamitous times. When our faith is being threatened — indeed, when our very lives are being threatened — the counsel of spouses, pastors and wise friends can take us only so far.

Today we are living in fearful times and the truth is, only a personal word from the Lord can lead us through such times with the enduring hope we need. Throughout history, God has always been faithful to provide a word to His people.

HE STILL SPEAKS TODAY

In the Old Testament we read this phrase again and again: “The word of the Lord came.”

• Scripture says of Abraham: “After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram” (Genesis 15:1).
• We read of Joshua: “According unto the word of the Lord which he [gave] Joshua” (Joshua 8:27).

And so it was with David and also the prophets. As for God’s people today, we have the abiding Holy Spirit to speak a word from heaven to us. Through Him, the comforting, healing, guiding word of the Lord is available to all who trust.

David and his band of men were on the run from King Saul, who had been trying to kill him. At one point the small army encamped in a town called Ziklag, where they settled their families. From there they went out to do battle, leaving their wives and children safely behind.

After a battle, David and his army were making a three-day trip back home when their village was suddenly raided by the Amalekites. This fierce enemy kidnapped the families of David and his men and burned down the whole town.

“So [they] came to the city, and, behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive” (1 Samuel 30:3).

RECOUNTING BLESSINGS

David’s response to this calamity was that “[he] encouraged himself in the Lord” (30:6). I believe he did this by remembering God’s past deliverances. In his young life, he had killed a bear, slain a lion, and brought down the giant Goliath. Now, as he agonized over this loss, he recounted those battles and the many others he had won.

ONLY A PERSONAL WORD

David was saying, “I need a word from the Lord.” He knew that no one could encourage him — not the very wise captains under his charge or, indeed, any counselor at all. David had to have a personal word directly from the One who had delivered him from every desperate situation he had ever faced.

Beloved, the same is true for you and me today. There simply is nobody on earth who can lift your soul out of despair or keep your spirit encouraged through the duration of your crisis. We all must get our own word from the Lord. Like David, we are called to strengthen ourselves by recalling God’s deliverances in our lives. And we must also remember those times when God has proven fruitful in past generations.