Fear Reignited

FEAR REIGNITED

a prayer to open

My Lord, my God, show me your heart. Ground me in your presence.

Draw me near and hold me close.

Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”

The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the LORD brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? . . . Why should you murder an innocent man like David?” . . .

So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed.”

Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.

War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.

But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the LORD suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.” So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped. . . .

When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed.

But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!” But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.

“Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal.

“I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”

So David escaped and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and he told him all that Saul had done to him.

Saul’s obsession with getting rid of David seems to have affected everyone around him, causing them to lie and manipulate their circumstances. Deception became the primary mode of operation for Saul’s daughter Michal and his son Jonathan. But given Saul’s persistence, authority, and ability to order David’s death, it’s hard to see what choice they had if they wanted to protect David. Fear drives us to become paranoid, skeptical, and self-protective. We alienate those around us and close our hearts to God’s work. When we are overtaken by fear, may we remember the truth of his presence and provision.

• What reignited Saul’s desire to kill David after Jonathan reconciled the two men and Saul took an oath that David would not be put to death?
• Reflect on a time you lied or manipulated a situation in order to protect someone else. How did that situation make you feel?
• How have you acted in a way that may have led others to lie or engage in unkind or sinful conduct? How do you feel about that situation now? What do you need to confess to God?

Father, thank you for the reminder in this passage of how much my conduct and attitudes can influence those around me. I pray that when I am tempted to lie or act in ways that are contrary to your will, you would bring the truth to my mind and heart. I pray that I would be attuned to your Spirit in the midst of difficult circumstances. By your grace, help me see and take the steps necessary to eradicate any conduct or attitudes that tempt any of my family, friends, or coworkers to sin. Amen.