1st Samuel 27 FEAR OR FAITH? 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 in our minds by them, unbelief is there to claim us. Then we start to look at events and people instead of at God. Then our fears become so real to us that we yield to them instead of looking above and beyond them. It is 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 was held by the Philistines. He didn't go to Achish as a person who was 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." Elijah's boldness with Ahab was followed by his fear of Jezebel. Peter's confident affirmation of loyalty to the Lord in spite of what others might do was followed by his denial of the Lord three times to people just like himself. "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." We are not better or stronger people then they were. We just have to be on guard and in control of our thoughts and senses lest we make the same mistakes - or worse.
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. To take action under the direction of the mind of our own sinful flesh, can make it easy for us to leave where the Lord has placed us. "David fled" to Gath from Saul and that path he followed was such that the fleshy enemy, Saul, no longer followed him. When we succumb to the power of our own flesh, the powerful fleshly 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. David was no longer a threat to Saul he thought, because he had left his place, his country and the place where God dwelt in the midst of His people.
"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 totally abhorrent to his own people. He even settled in a place that had belonged to the tribe of Judah, but he was under the control of the Philistine king. It is always harder to get back to where God wants us than it is 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 try to justify our actions by saying to ourselves, and maybe to others, that God can use us there as witnesses for Him. But David did not inquire of the Lord as to his move before he actually had moved. He made his move because of fear not faith, and there was no good, honest testimony on his part as a result. We also need to remember when we make such a move on our own initiative without God's will taken into consideration, that there are others (he had 600 men beside women and children) who are affected by our choice.
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. Abraham went to Egypt where there was no altar to worship the Lord, and came back 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 where there are no problems at the moment and where 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 cottage or in mansion fair, Where Jesus is, 'tis heaven there." But the pilgrim life to some of God's people seems to be too long and too insecure. When we get from the world "a place," the strings attached to it may mean all that we thought was important and we had, can be taken away in a moment of time.
Even in Ziklag, the city Achish gave to David and his followers, he had to live a lie in deception and duplicity. He was trying to enjoy the favors of the world and still have a connection with Israel in his heart. The world wants our significance to God and our relationship with Him and His people to be taken away. Half-hearted Christianity is not satisfactory to God, to His people or even to the watching world. We may think by doing some "Christian things" that it will make our profession of faith in Christ attractive. Unbelievers expect true Christians to be different then 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 live.
Let us never lest the pressures of life, the deceitfulness of our own heart, or the conflicts that may arise among us as God's people to ever rob us of our peace, our testimony, or our 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 who we obey. "Faith is the victory that overcomes the world," and "The fear of man bringeth a snare."