My Only Reasonable Option

04.23.12

1 Samuel 27.1 1 Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” NASB

If I take the word literally today, I might think that David had talked himself into something. But I think it’s more like David said, “Unless I do something, I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. And so because of the incessant game of Cat and Mouse, David decided to go to the land of the Philistines and live. At least, for a while.

And at least for a while David was pretty good at burning the candle at both ends: appeasing and deceiving Achish the Philistine on the one hand, while avoiding Saul on the other. But ultimately David would have to decide what to do. Sometimes it appears God puts us in a place where we have to wait upon Him and with no idea of how it’s going to conclude, trusting Him with the outcome. David was in that spot.

I think David was under a tremendous amount of pressure during those days. He hadn’t been made king yet though he’d been anointed as such. The king he was to succeed was still alive and breathing murder (along with most of his family members who had much to lose if he lost). And he played a dangerous game of raiding and destroying the remote Canaanite villages and reporting to his host that he was raiding Israelite villages. If one person of his raid survived and brought back word to Achish then David’s head would be in his hands as well as Saul’s.

Sometimes, we come up with what we think is a solution to what we are facing. Sometimes that solution is an attempt to burn the candle at both ends. Sometimes, it seems like God has placed us in a place where that seems to be the only reasonable solution. That is a time when despite all that surrounds us, we need desperately to cling to the Lord: praying for wisdom and insight to make the right decisions and to go the right direction. That is a golden opportunity…if we can see it as such.

Sometimes, it just looks impossible and if we move we lose and if we stay we lose. That is the maddening thing. But God knows and He is teaching us in these times of immense uncertainly to trust in Him to see us through. What happens when we do? Oh the stories told!

Are you in a spot like that today? Are you living among foreigners just to avoid your own people? Are you attempting to burn the candle at both ends? How much time do you think you have left until you get burned? Seek Him, my friend – seek Him and ask Him what to do and don’t stop until He shows you the way. God is working and as tough as it seems, He will see you through – and your faith will grow. Personally, in my current situation, I have committed to God to keep putting one foot in front of the other and trust Him to see where it leads…it’s my only reasonable option.