G3 Insider

I’ve been reading through I Samuel lately and have been blown away by the road that David had to travel before he became King of Israel. If you think being a Christian is supposed to be easy then read about David’s life. We love to focus on when he killed the giant but we never seem to hear about how David spent a major chunk of his life on the run as a wanted man. He wasn’t wanted because he was criminal. On the contrary he was wanted because he was anointed. The Lord had left King Saul and a tormenting spirit had overtaken him. He became extremely jealous of David and all the success he had. So he tried to kill him. He did everything from throwing spears at him, to sending him into battle to die. Each time David escaped and only grew in popularity which enraged the king even more. What had to hurt Saul the most was that his own son Jonathan sided with David instead of his father. David would spend a large amount of his time running. He hid in homes, hid in forests, hid in caves. Each time Saul got close the Lord would blind him and David would escape.

Then a major opportunity arises in chapter 24. Saul has to go to the bathroom. Scripture says he went into a cave to “relieve” himself. This was an incredible opportunity for revenge because David was hiding in that same cave with his 600 men and Saul had no clue! The men that stood by David and loved him whispered in his ear, “strike him, kill him, get your revenge!” One even used God by saying, “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with you as you wish.’” David had to make a choice. Does he lower himself to the position of his enemy by getting revenge for all the running and all the murder attempts on his life OR does he show mercy to his enemy? David, being God’s anointed, stands firm despite his men’s pleas and he spares the life of Saul. David sneaks up on Saul and cuts off a piece of his robe to prove that he could have killed him but he showed him mercy.

To end the story David then confronts Saul. Saul is shocked to realize that he could have been killed but David spared his life. Saul then says in verse 17, ” You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.”

This story is an awesome reminder to us as believers. There will always be people who will hate you. It might be because they are jealous or it might be because of what you believe or it might be because you don’t live as a religious elite like they do. Paul writes in 2 Timothy, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

You and I will be persecuted for what we believe. Look at the media. It constantly attacks Christianity. It pursues us relentlessly to hurt us just as Saul did to David. People will always hate us. But we must stand firm like David. We cannot seek revenge instead we must do as David did and as Jesus did and show mercy. While Jesus was hanging on a cross, enduring excruciating pain he pleaded with God to forgive us. What we have to remember is that people are controlled by sin. It is not them it is the sin in them that makes them who they are. They do not know what they are doing because they are enslaved to the sin in them. Knowing that should not make us want revenge. Knowing that should make us feel pity for them AND instead of desiring to run and hide in the wilderness or plotting to get our revenge it should drive us to love them even more AND to share with them the love of Jesus, mercy of Jesus, salvation through Jesus. We should be driven to take them to the cross not to the chair.

When someone attacks you today, hurts your feelings, causes you stress and frustration show them mercy instead of revenge. Show them love instead of hate. Show them grace instead of anger. Let love guide you instead of letting satan win by letting sin control you. Write Proverbs 25:21-22 on your heart as a reminder to show mercy to merciless.

If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch; if he’s thirsty, bring him a drink.
Your generosity will surprise him with goodness, and God will look after you. Proverbs 25:21-22