David was a man after God’s heart yet had a fallen nature that is evident in scripture. In 1 Samuel 30:1-8, David and his warriors returned from battle to find that the Amalekites had burned their homes in Ziklag and taken the women and children.
While David had not yet been officially crowned king, he had already been anointed by God to be king and to take up kingly responsibilities for others. However, he made the costly mistake here of leaving women and children vulnerable to the enemy. The scripture says that David and his men wept until they had no strength to weep any more. There is a place for anguish over the cost of mistakes or sin. In fact, may God give us the fortitude to weep over brokenness.
David’s difficulties were far from over, however. 1 Samuel 30 says that the men were so grieved over the situation that they began to discuss stoning David. While David had to bear some responsibility for the outcome of his choice, the decision had not been malicious, and stoning him was not the correct response. On top of this, David’s family had been captured too, and he was grieving his own losses. It would have been so easy for him to look at the unfairness of the situation and lash out at the men.
Instead, the scripture says that in the middle of his distress, “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6, ESV). David was honest about his failure but rested in the amazing power of God’s mercy. Once he had privately strengthened himself in God’s presence, David took a very important next step. He told Abiathar the priest to bring him the ephod, which was the covering of a priest. As a father, husband and leader myself, I know the temptation must have been to rush out to recover his stolen family. However, David learned the lesson of moving and not prayerfully seeking God’s will first.
This speaks so powerfully to me of not relying on my ‘strategies’ or my ‘know-how’ to drive back spiritual darkness. God alone has the power to defeat the darkness, and he knows the path to triumph. Perhaps you are dealing with intense situations, some where you may even be partially at fault. The redeeming power of God’s kindness remains; God is faithful even in the moments where we have not been faithful.
John Bailey is the COO of World Challenge Inc. and the Founding Pastor of The Springs Church in Jacksonville, Florida. John has been serving the Lord in pastoral ministry for 35 years, ministering the gospel in over 50 nations, particularly as a pastor and evangelist in Cork, Ireland.