So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.”
In case you ever get into a close game of Bible trivia, here’s a good question: Who was afraid so he or she pretended to be insane?
Do you give up? Do you want a hint? He liked sheep. He knew how to sing. His father’s name was Jesse. He was a man after God’s own heart. He killed Goliath.
That’s right…David. The verse above is 1 Samuel 21:13. After Jonathon told David that his father wanted to kill him, David fled for his life. While running from Saul, David hid out near the king of Gath, but not wanting to be recognized, he pretended to be insane. The king let him go.
Now, I really think there is more to this than just a good trivia stumper. I think the fact that David, the one who “killed the lion and the bear” could be afraid, means that I too will have times that I am afraid. The fact that the one who “approached Goliath” could become terrified means that surely times will shake my confidence. The reality that the one who was “anointed to be king”, could become so afraid that he would act like an idiot to avoid being found out, means that you and I, who may appear to be of lesser stature in our faith, should not be surprised when we have fear and doubts.
David was a man, just like you and I. At times, he just couldn’t muster up the faith to go on. At times life got the best of him. At times, he thought he couldn’t take another step. At times fear captivated him. Moreover, it was at those times that God came through for him once again.
In addition, He’ll do the same for you and me!
What’s making you afraid these days?
There have been times when I was so afraid, almost terrified to speak before a certain audience, feeling or thinking that I could not relate to them and it was then in my fear and totally trusting in the Lord and not my own talent, training or intellect, that God came through and used me to reach others for his glory.
Thank you for showing us that it is not wrong or weak to be afraid, but it is to recognize that we need to be totally dependent on the Lord. Especially when we have had great moments of faith and the resulting miracles in our life and we are wondering why we do not have that faith now, in the moment of our fear and terror. Thank God he doesn't throw us away when we are afraid.
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says:
Ron,
I feel that so many Christians just do not “get it” relative to how God uses our humbling moments to get through to us just how much we need to depend on Him.
This is an article that allows us behind the scenes into our own lives if we would but self-examine. Thanks for a great post!
~Zach
Thank you! I completely agree. In our weakness…
A timely post, Ron. I'm reminded of Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." It's interesting to me that it says WHEN I am afraid not IF. Fear is to be expected. I believe fear is one of the main tools of the enemy's attack – so I would say we need to be worried if we're not afraid in some way. That would mean we're already so ineffective that we're not on the enemy's hit list.
Amen
When my leader recognizes one of my friends to be much smarter than me…
.-= Yohan Perera´s last blog ..The power of the name of Jesus =-.