No Way Out

To our loyal online community: Just a note to let you know that I am currently in the mode of moving from Texas to Illinois. So please bear with me as the blog will have to be a little inconsistent for a week or so as we cram to get everything packed in time and then get situated in our new place. We'll get it back to our normal frequency asap! In the meantime, continue your own private conversations with God.

Having just read through 1 Samuel 29, which is our text for today, I am thinking about what God is wanting to communicate to me through it. It's a very short chapter (11 verses). If you read my post on chapter 27 then you remember that David had run away to the Philistines for protection from King Saul. He had grown tired of the constant running and the many close-calls as he dodged his enemy. He had decided that it was safer among the enemies of God's people than to stay in Israel.

But then one day the Philistines decide to invade Israel and the king tells David that he is expected to join forces with them and fight against his own people. It was a classic case of "What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" David was in between a rock and a hard place wondering how in the world he ever got himself into this mess. It was his own failure to keep trusting in God. Now what will he do--fight against God's covenant people or blow his cover as a friend of the Philistines? Either course seems like a death sentence.

I think I've been between a rock and a hard place a time or two. Sometimes you just end up in a no-win situation and either way you go, you're toast. It's a double-edged sword that cuts no matter which direction you swing it. Sometimes you get there through your own bad decisions, and other times you just get put in that position innocently. In either case, it's a stressful place to be!

But in today's reading, this is what impresses me:

So Achish [King of the Philistines] called David and said to him, "As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don't approve of you. Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers." (v. 6-7)

Whew! That was close! God is well aware of David's plight, it turns out. Even now he steps in and comes to David's aid. David had no way out of this, but God made a way. That's what I feel God is impressing on my heart today. When there seems to be no good way to turn, he will make a way that I don't even foresee. He is able to deliver me out of any bad situation or provide a way through it. God is bigger than any other power or person that may threaten me. I've experienced his deliverance first-hand more than once in my life. There were times when I thought my life was basically over. I couldn't see any positive way forward. And then God stepped in and worked things out in some totally surprising way. He does that kind of thing, you know!

Lord, I want to trust you implicitly. I am so thankful for your faithfulness even when I am unfaithful. You are my deliverer and the one who holds my life in your hand. When there appears to be nothing but dead-ends before me, I will pray and wait and trust you to open up the way. You are awesome, God! Amen.

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