David's Secret

David's Secret

by Wayne Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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Psalm 21:1
The king shall joy in Thy strength, O Lord; and in Thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

One thing David knew: he knew how to encourage himself in the Lord his God.

Romans 15:4
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

It's important that we take the experiences found in the Word of God and realize that we can benefit from their example. They can mean a lot to us in strengthening us, holding us stedfast, keeping us in that place where God can bless and do great things for our lives.

I Samuel 29:1,2
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.

We're looking at David, now, over there amongst the Philistines. This could be a problem. What would happen if the Philistines went to war with the children of Israel? Which side would David be on?

The Philistines passed over by the thousands, prepared for war: but David was at the tail end, passing on in the rereward.

David, the Israelite? David, a man after God's own heart? Over in the enemy's camp with his men, ready to go to war? Does this sound right? Is this a good place for David to be? David, do you belong in the Philistine army? How did you get there in the first place?

I Samuel 29:3
Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?

As far as the king is concerned, he likes David. David found favor with him. He found no fault in David.

I Samuel 29:4,5
And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? Should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

The princes felt that David would turn on them in the battle.

Are You Where You Belong?

Did you ever get in the place where you really didn't belong? You realized after you got in there that you shouldn't be there, that you'd best get out while you can.

There are times when God's people get over where they shouldn't be. They find themselves in the enemy's camp, find themselves in a place where they don't belong.

I Samuel 29:8-11
And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

What have I done? Why am I being restricted?

And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.

So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

David had found shelter here from Saul for the past sixteen months. And now he escapes from having to go to battle against Israel. God spared him of going up to fight against his own people. But, is this the end of David's troubles?

Troubles and More Troubles

Do troubles ever come in bunches? Do troubles ever come one after another after another? Isn't there an end to troubles somewhere along the way?

We sing a song that tells of wearing a bright and shining crown when the battle is over. Yes, one day all the battles will be over. But until then, troubles and problems and vexations will come our way.

We wonder why should someone who loves and serves the Lord have to suffer so much?

Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

Do you believe that? Do you believe the Lord cares enough about you to deliver you out of every one of your afflictions? Every one? That, some how, some way the hand of God will be there?

So, David got out of going to battle against Israel that day. It would have been awful for David to find himself in that place. You could say he would have been on the right side. Saul didn't want him. My, he did everything he could to kill David, to run him off. He surely made an enemy out of David.

Troubles sometimes come in bunches like grapes. As we read on, we'll see that they certainly did in David's life!

Now, King Achish had given David a small town to live in: the town of Ziklag.

I Samuel 30:1-3
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; and had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

Another problem!

David had come home with his six hundred men. God had spared them from going to war against Israel: but now they return home to Ziklag only to find the enemy had come and taken away their families, and burned the city with fire.

I Samuel 30:4
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

There's still a bunch of troubles to face. David and all these men had lost their wives and children: and now they poured out their hearts, weeping until there was no more strength to weep.

Lord, what have I done to deserve this? I didn't hear that from David and his men. Oh, God, why me? No, I didn't hear anything like that from David and his men: but then, David soon found himself standing all alone:

I Samuel 30:5,6
And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

Troubles . . . but Then What?

But David . . .

David finds himself in this situation, and who can he turn to for help? He is in the place where he finds himself in this dilemma.

But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. He knew the Source of his strength. He knew where the hill is from whence comes his help.

What does he do? He stops to get hold of himself, stops to turn his heart and commit himself unto God, stops to seek the Lord. Yes, David stopped to encourage himself in the Lord, putting his trust fully in the Lord.

This is a good example for us to follow. We may find ourselves having troubles by the bunches. We may have troubles one after another after another after another. We may have troubles that we can't seem to get to the bottom of.

How does one encourage themselves at a time like this? How would we encourage ourselves if our mate died? What would we do? Is there really such a thing as encouraging ourselves in the Lord?

How would we face the hour? Would we just fall apart? Just fall in a heap?

We don't know what's going to happen today, or tomorrow. One thing we'd best learn to do: we'd best know there does come a time when we've got to stop and encourage ourselves in the Lord. And we'll surely find as we attempt to encourage ourselves in Him that He'll surely be there to put courage in us to face what we have to face. And will be a deliverer to us.

Psalm 34:17
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Encourage Yourself
In the Lord Your God

But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

There's the answer. We have to face reality, don't we? Yes, and we also need to encourage ourselves in the Lord. But how?

In the Lord, we have to stand up! We've got to look ahead. We can't duck. There's no way to run away from it. We can't drink ourselves out of it; can't smoke ourselves out of it; can't run ourselves out of it.

We have to turn to the Lord, and in reality give it to Him. Lord, I've got to get hold of myself. I've got to go on here. I can't let this thing get me down to keep my life bogged down to where I can't function any more.

Mourning has its place, but there has to come an end to that grievous mourning. There has got to come an end to that. We've got to prepare our heart in the Lord, determined to go on with Him. We have to get up and run on with the Lord, serving Him with our whole heart. He gives us a reason for going on.

We've got to function. We still have to live. Yes, we have to go on. And in the Lord, we can get up and face up. We can do what we have to do — and go on with the Lord. He'll give us that strength.

So, encouraging ourselves in the Lord becomes very important: And David, now, has done that very thing. He's uncertain about his two wives. They were taken captive by somebody, and he has no idea where they are. What will happen to them? That's what he has to face up to as he puts his trust in the Lord.

I Samuel 30:7,8
And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

It certainly was worthwhile for David to seek the Lord. Wasn't that better than just sitting down and crying?

What do you do at a time like this? Sit down and cry for ever? Not David. He sought the Lord. He looked to the Lord for the answer — and the Lord told him to pursue, and he would without fail recover all.

It helps to have a life and an experience where you can pray and God will hear — and He will give you an answer, an answer you can count on.

We all ought to know that. Don't we need answers? Yes, we need answers. We need real answers coming down from heaven. We need real answers that give us the assurance and direction to go forward.

Led by the Spirit of God

Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

We're known as the children of God because we are led by the Spirit of God. He's the One who is going to lead us in the direction we should go.

Now what?

David is going to be led here of the Lord: but he really had a crying spell before this. He cried so hard, along with all of his men. Yes, it was as though his wives were dead. What is he going to do now? Pursue, and you'll recover all. He got his answer!

I Samuel 30:9,10
So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

My, at a time David when needed his men, two hundred of them were too faint to go with him. He had to leave these two hundred behind with the stuff that he and the others had been carrying — so they wouldn't be bogged down in their pursuit.

David needs all the help he can get right now. He could have used those men. Life often brings us troubles in bunches, but the Word of the Lord told David to go on, regardless of how many were with him — and he would recover all.

I Samuel 30:11,12
And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

This Egyptian was surely glad these men came along. There he was, lying in the field without any food or drink. My, he could have died out there if David hadn't come by! It was no accident he was lying there in that field; and it surely was the wisdom of God that they stopped to give him help. It was only God's mercy that they took care of him.

I Samuel 30:13,14
And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

This young Egyptian was one of the men who had burned Ziklag!

I Samuel 30:15
And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.

David was going to find out where they took his wives — for this man not only knew what had happened at Ziklag, but also knew where his master and the others were camped out.

This Egyptian was fearful. He wanted David to promise that he wouldn't kill him, neither bring him to his master. If David promised that, then he would take him to the camp.

This was just like God — something you wouldn't expect to happen along the way. Where would they have gone in trying to find all these people if they hadn't come across this Egyptian? It could have taken days to even have a clue which direction to head in.

Yes, God led them right to the enemy's camp. And just as God had promised, David and his men recovered all that the enemy had taken from them!

Why Troubles?

Stop for a moment!

We can stop here and look at the situations of our lives and our experiences. Should we consider that if we have some troubles along the way it means we are backslid? That if we have a few troubles it means we are some terrible person?

Troubles don't mean that at all. Know that the trial of our faith precious!

I Peter 1:7
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ

So we ought to be thankful in our hearts for those hard trials. There are a lot of good things along the way: but there's also going to be some trying experiences — and we've got to get geared up for those times.

You know cloud nine? The little cloud that glides through the air without really going anywhere? Up on cloud nine it's like a large soft pillow where one can float around all day in ease and comfort with nothing to do — nothing to hurt them, nothing to harm them.

Do we live on cloud nine? Is that a reality? No! We live down here in the real world. And we know this real world is a fallen creation. We know in this real world there are troubles upon troubles on every side.

John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

We're here in this world. We're not of it — but we are in it. We're fellow pilgrims and strangers sojourning in a land of promise until the coming of Christ, when He takes us out of this world. We're surely looking for a better place. It ought to be in our hearts that we're looking for that city whose builder and maker is God.

Let's understand, now, that troubles are not something we should think we're going to avoid. We have to learn to deal with the troubles and problems that come our way.

The Answer to Troubles

Psalm 107:6
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.

We're delivered out of our troubles, not from them — so we have to learn the way through them, like David had to learn here. We see him in his spiritual walk, in his spiritual life: He encouraged himself in the Lord — and immediately the Lord answered him.

Where is the answer going to come from? It's going to come from that place where we stand with God. When we're in trouble we're going to stop in our tracks and not move our feet again until we've turned our heart and looked to the Lord, trusting Him — knowing that He will not fail us. He will show us the way through all our troubles, each and every one of them.

Psalm 61:1-4
Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings. Selah