FEAR OR FAITH? 1st Samuel 27 Failures often follow successes. Even after Saul left, David’s heart failed him, and he lost sight of God’s promise that he would be the king of Israel after Saul. His words of despair came from unbelief, and he considered himself a “dead dog” or a “flea,” not a chosen servant of God. Wrong words may lead to wrong actions. David started double-dealing dishonestly with Achish, knowing that Achish was not a friend. Still, Achish was also using David for his own ends in the ongoing struggle for land and goods that characterized the Middle Eastern tribes in those times.
None of us is immune from "the sin that doth so easily beset us." If we get to the place where the pressures of life around us and against us are so strong that we start looking at them and being consumed by them, unbelief is there to claim us. Then, we look at events and people instead of God. Then, our fears become so real that we yield to them instead of looking above and beyond them. Then we go down into the valley of doubt and the "Slough of Despond." Our feelings take over, and our faith loses its power over us to the extent that we only see what is against us rather than what is for us.
For the second time, David sought refuge among the enemies of God's people in the area of Israel that the Philistines held. He didn't go to Achish as someone out of his mind this time. Rather, he went in such a way that the Philistine king thought he was abandoning his loyalty to Israel and was going to give his allegiance to the Philistines. Once we allow deception a place in our communication and relationships with others, it is very hard to stop at only a little deception and not go further.
Others of God's people have gone that way, and their stories are told to us in the scriptures lest we exalt ourselves and say, "I would never do that." His fear of Jezebel followed Elijah's boldness with Ahab. Peter's confident affirmation of loyalty to the Lord despite what others might do was followed by his denial of the Lord three times to people like himself. "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." We are not better or stronger people than they were. We must be on guard and in control of our thoughts and senses lest we make the same mistakes.
The Lord permitted these circumstances and used David to deal with the Canaanite tribes that the Israelites had not dealt with. Not leaving anyone alive would not let Achish know what he was doing. In God’s eyes, he was finishing an unfinished work of removing idolatry that should have been done in the time of Joshua [Josh. 6:21]. That didn’t mean David was justified in using lies, crafty words, and deceit. Even though a priest with an ephod was with him, we do not read that God guided him to do what he did, nor did he ask God for guidance. David further solidified his position with Achish by raiding and totally destroying desert tribes. It would seem that Achish thought David and his men were raiding the Israelites in the areas that bordered Philistia.
The downward course began when "David arose" after thinking "in his heart" instead of asking the Lord for guidance. "David fled" to Gath from Saul, and that path he followed was such that the fleshly enemy, Saul, no longer followed him. David was no longer a threat to Saul, he thought, because he had left his place, his country, and the place where God dwelt among His people.
To take action under the direction of the mind of our sinful flesh can make it easy for us to leave where the Lord has placed us. When we succumb to the power of our own flesh, the powerful worldly interests around us no longer consider us a threat to them and will not fasten their attention on us to bring us down. We have already brought ourselves down. None of us are immune from deceit and changeableness when we take matters into our own hands and are away from God.
There will always be sad consequences in times of fear and weak faith. Fear is closely aligned with unbelief. David learned later, “I will trust Him and not be afraid.” When our plans are made, and we have decided to proceed, we are not inclined to ask God for His will. One wrong will lead to another, and a price must be paid for self-will. It is always harder to get back to where God wants us than to leave, and it always takes longer to get back to where we can be trusted. We might think we would never do what he did by moving away from where the Lord has placed His name to a place more convenient to us, where we can make more money.
“But many of the Lord's people do,” we say as we try to justify our actions by saying to ourselves and maybe to others. “God can use us there as witnesses for Him.” God's people, no matter who they are or how serious their need, must have the mind of God made clear to them in the scriptures or unmistakable circumstances or counsel from wise and godly people before they take an action that will change their path in life. We also need to remember that when we make such a move on our own initiative without God's will, we should consider that there are others (he had 600 men besides women and children) who are affected by our choice.
David did not inquire of the Lord as to his move before he had moved. He made his move because of fear, not faith, and there was no good, honest testimony on his part. "David dwelt" in that place under foreign domination for a year and four months, doing his own thing in his own way until the people of the world thought he would be abhorrent to his own people. He even settled in a place that belonged to the tribe of Judah but was under the control of the Philistine king.
Abraham went to Egypt, where there was no altar to worship the Lord, and returned with Hagar. That one act of his, when faith was lacking, has affected the world negatively, and it still does today. We do not read of David playing his harp in the land of the Philistines, probably because he could not sing there. He may have been safe, but he was not happy. We may find a place without problems, and nothing is expected of us. The living might be easy, but the joy of the Lord will be missing if He has not led us there and we are not conscious of His presence there.
The entanglements of being in the wrong place and the dishonor and shame of being involved in the wrong things are far greater dangers to us than any inconveniences we might have in the place of God's choosing. The world's security from perceived danger is a price too high to pay for us to leave God's people. "What matters where on earth we dwell, On mountain top or in the dell. In a cottage or in mansion fair, Where Jesus is, 'tis heaven there."
But the pilgrim life to some of God's people seems too long and insecure. When we get from the world "a place," the strings attached to it may mean all that we thought was important and that we had can be taken away in a moment of time.
Even in Ziklag, the city Achish gave David and his followers; he had to live a lie of deception and duplicity. He was trying to enjoy the favors of the world while still having a connection with Israel in his heart. Doubt leads to despondency, fear, and a path of self-will, folly, and unbelief. Instead of being an outcast in the place where God wants us, we will be accepted favorably by the enemies of God. Instead of a cave, we will have a city with deception and double-dealing as a way of life. We cannot remain in fellowship with God and His people when we are practicing duplicity with those of the world system. The world will smile at the same time, seeking to enslave and take away our liberty in Christ. To compromise what is right will cause us to lose our testimony and leave us miserable, useless, and spiritually shipwrecked.
The world wants our significance to God and our relationship with Him and His people to be removed. Half-hearted Christianity is not satisfactory to God, to His people, or even to the watching world. We may think that doing some "Christian things" will make our profession of faith in Christ attractive. Unbelievers expect true Christians to be different than they are. They are not looking for Christians to see how much they can get away with. Compromise is not hard to discern by unbelievers, and deceitfulness turns people off of those who profess faith in Christ but live the same way as those of the world.
Let us never let the pressures of life, the deceitfulness of our own hearts, or the conflicts that may arise among us as God's people ever rob us of our peace, testimony, or spiritual power to live for the Lord. Let us never leave the place where God, by His grace, has placed us for anything that displaces our Lord as the Supreme Love of our life and the Sovereign Lord whom we obey. "Faith is the victory that overcomes the world," and "The fear of man bringeth a snare."
To take counsel only with self can lead us away from God. It affects our families and also those who believe our word. We may justify a move out of fear or expediency and end up in the place we choose to go, which is not where God wants us to be. One thing leads to another when choices are made in times of discouragement. The outcome of change may be worse than what we previously had or where we were. New associations we make may lead us to act in the flesh and make what we once knew was wrong now seem okay.
Perhaps you will fall into a trap and get used to telling a lie to justify an action. Discouragement can lead to self-pity, and the benefit you gain from leaving is a false hope. What you had, you have lost, and now discouragement seems to overcome you. Stop quietly for a day or two and seriously consider the outcome and its effect on you before God. Think also about how it will affect others, those who look for you to lead; then think mostly about how it affects God if you neglect to heed His guidance. Discouragement is a sin. It happens when we take our eyes off God.
Actions taken at that time often lead people down the wrong road. There may be serious problems where you are, and you want to escape any consequences, but look further down the road of choice to see the end of your action. God gives needed grace in the trials if we turn to Him and trust Him. He promises not to forsake you and be with you till the testing time is over. There is always a way to escape discouragement if we give God the right to control us, and even if the difficulties remain, He promises rest to your soul.