Faithfulness in Spite of Our Failures

“Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13).

David became a man who was godly, wise, loved: “And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him” (18:14). He was a man of much prayer who praised the Lord as few people ever have, blessing the heart of God with his songs and psalms. David was also a man of great faith. He went on to slay the giant Goliath on his way to becoming a mighty warrior for King Saul. God’s Spirit clearly was upon him.

After a time, Saul became angry at David and came after him with great wrath. David had to run for his life and hide in caves. At times he must have thought, “Lord, if I’m so special, anointed and chosen, then why am I in such deep trouble?” During this low period, David made an unwise choice and fled to a town called Gath, the hometown of the defeated giant Goliath. Because he had not sought the counsel of the Lord before making this move, hostility rose against him there. He was captured and brought before King Achish, where he made another foolish move. He pretended to be insane in hopes that his “insanity” would deliver him from the clutches of the enemy. This was a poor testimony to David’s men but it worked to a degree — King Achish wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

Even though David was unfaithful to the Lord during this episode, God was still faithful to him! He did not write David off. Even while he was playing the madman, behaving foolishly, God’s eternal purpose for him went forward.

Have you ever gone through some sort of “insane” period in your life? You may have faced utter chaos and given up, saying, “I can’t handle this anymore!” You acted according to your flesh, getting ahead of God. But God still worked on your behalf. He is always at work behind the scenes; always faithful to his promises and his plan for your life.