Day 6: Keeping Your Bearing in the Wilderness

Stories about David are so exciting, especially the period when he was running from his father-in-law, Saul. David had been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king of Israel, the successor to Saul. Through a series of convoluted events, Saul had decided that killing David was the best course of action to keep his dynasty intact. Rather than confront Saul outright, David decided that keeping his distance was the wiser option to avoid bloodshed and a political coup.
 
At this point, David was on the run with approximately 600 elite soldiers. Saul’s pursuing force consisted of roughly 3,000 elite soldiers. While traversing the arid wilderness of Israel (think rocky northeastern Utah) to evade Saul’s forces, God told David that he should liberate the city of Keilah from the Philistines, savage fighters and Israel’s enemies. After David liberated the city, its residents betrayed him by giving his position to Saul. Awesome, right?
 
A wilderness of mine was a medical emergency that required six hours of surgery. My wife was pregnant with our first son, and my survival wasn’t guaranteed. Good decision-making felt nearly impossible in that wilderness. We were tired, resource-depleted, and in constant crisis, which clouds judgment and can shift decisions toward self-preservation.

David faced the same challenges while being pursued by a tactically superior force. He could have engaged in warfare and potentially decimated Saul’s forces. He didn’t, because he knew God’s commands: he was “not to touch my anointed ones” (I Chron. 16:22). As king of Israel, that meant Saul. David was one of Saul’s tier-one operators and had served as his second in command before everything went sideways. David chose to ignore everything he knew about warfare—at the risk of his own life and his men—to keep God’s commands.
 
David’s obedience and steadfastness in the wilderness brings us to some important questions. How much do we actually believe or act on what we claim about our faith? Will we fold when adversity hits? Are we willing to risk our own existence to act in faith and do what God asks of us?


PRAY:
Father, give us clarity as we walk through the wilderness. Remind us, as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, that you are with us and you love us, so we should fear no evil. Give us the fortitude to make the hard calls as your sons and daughters. Amen.