Grace Under Pressure

I was just doing a morning study, and I was lead to David when he was on the run from King Saul. (1 Samuel 20-22) It amazed me how God had such an amazing plan for God’s life. Yet, he was on the run from a man he respected. A man that was sitting on the throne, placed there by God. Yet, this man, The King, had it out for David in such a way that he was hunting him down to kill him. And David had no clue WHY Saul was acting like this all of a sudden. I mean, David knew he was to be king, but CLEARLY, if Saul got hold of him and killed him, how could he be king?????? I wonder if David ever prayed this prayer…

 

“God, I know you said I am anointed to be the next King and all,

But how can I be king when I’m on the run from someone who is trying to kill me???

Kind of seems a backwards doesn’t it?”

 

I’ve prayed that prayer many times.

“God you gave me this promise. But WHY is it that EVERYTHING

Is going in the opposite direction of that promise?

Did I maybe hear you wrong?

Is it possible that you were telling me someone else’s promise and not my own?”

 

Those are the times there you need some grace to get through. Those are usually the times where pressure is so heavy you have headaches for days and never mind the fact that you can't eat. Those are the pressures that make you run. But where are you running to when you do run? What are you thinking? You might not have a full plan, but you need to have steps that are helpful.

 

As I continued to read about David and what he did after he left his best friend (who is the son of the very man who was trying to kill him) I got stuck just at his next steps. Grace fell on him.

 

David went to a town to meet up with a Priest who knew him and the King. He was a bit nervous at seeing David. That fact is here nor there for this point. What struck me was, David lied about why he was there. But it makes sense, people feared Saul. If they knew that David was on the run from him (especially while David couldn’t explain WHY Saul wanted to kill him in the first place) certainly they’d tell Saul he was there. He did what he had to do.

 

Well, David knew that he needed 2 things for sure. He was hungry and he needed a weapon. So when he asked the Priest, he asked for some bread. See what the verses say in 1 Samuel 21:3-4a, 6…

 

3“Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”   4a“We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is holy bread,”    6Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread - the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the LORD in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.”

 

Wow, so it just so happens that on the day that David shows up, on the run from a King, while trying to believe a promise from God, he doesn’t get regular bread. He got Holy Bread. That just came from being in the Tabernacle with the LORD earlier in the day. The Bread of PRESENCE. Wow. I don’t think he can get any more blessed than that. Some people might call that coincidence, but baby, that’s Grace.

 

Well, he got his food but remember that I said he asked for a weapon too. Let’s see how this played out in verses 8-9…

 

8David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword? The kings business was so urgent that I didn’t even have time to grab a weapon!” 9”I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.”  “There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!”

 

Ok, so I know we are talking about priests here; they aren’t going to have a vault of weapons. BUT, for it to just so happen to be, that the only one weapon available, was the same weapon that was in the hand of the opponent in David’s biggest fight of his life, and the same sword that he held after he took down that enemy and cut off his head, that’s pretty ironic. Or maybe, that’s just called Grace too.

 

Sometimes, God’s plan sends you completely backwards unexpectedly because there is some grace there that you need to find in order to effectively reach the promise that He made to you about your life. Sometimes it's so painful. But God knows that if you continue to just push through “the way we know how” that promise may just be getting pushed further and further out of your destiny when God wants to give you the promise NOW. God’s directions may not make sense to you at all. (Proverbs 3:5-6) And sometimes it surely does not look like any kind of victory that you’ve ever seen. (2 Peter 3:9) But if you have the faith to believe even when it looks like everything is backwards, He will put before you the Grace you need in order to find your way, succeed and watch the promise manifest. Sometimes, you find out that you just have to Trust God in the mess.

 

I love you all. Be a Blessing to Someone Today.