Power Point - February 9, 2006

February 9, 2006

 

Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? Have I need of madmen that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” --1 Samuel 21:10-15

 

God wasn’t finished with David yet after removing all the temporary crutches from his life. There was something else David had to remove — his own ego and self-respect. Through the display of insanity mentioned in the verses above, David totally lost all self-respect, if he had any before! In order to save his own life, he froze with fear and pretended to be insane.

 

In 1 Samuel 22, David retreated and hid in a cave to shrivel up and waste away. Every prop had been removed at this point. He had lost his position as a high-ranking official living in the palace of the king, he lost his marriage, he lost his spiritual mentor — Samuel, he lost his best and dearest friend Jonathan, and he lost his own self-respect. He wound up all alone and left with no one else but God!

 

That’s how it should be. Maybe God is in the painful process of bringing you to a place of total dependence upon Him. Instead of falling away from the Lord like most people do, realize that He desires your faith and obedience. Who are you leaning on? Are you using the temporary things of this world as a crutch for stability in your life? Sooner or later, God will strip those away. He wants and deserves all of you.

 

Many people are living on artificial substitutes for the satisfying experience of living for the Lord. God said in the Old Testament, “I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods before Me… For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:2-3,5). If you have crutches in your life and you are a believer, then prepare for God to remove all competition until you cry out, “Oh God, there is no one else but You! I’m leaning on You and You only!”

 

WHEN YOU LOSE IT ALL, YOU CAN EITHER FALL AWAY FROM THE LORD OR FALL UPON THE LORD.