BACK ON THE ROAD TO VICTORY

David’s entrance onto the big stage was a surprise to him and everyone else. While delivering supplies to his brothers who were serving in King Saul’s army, David unexpectedly stumbled into the classic “David versus Goliath” battle. His victory over the giant made him an instant hero in the eyes of the Jewish nation, but when his fame surpassed that of King Saul, he knew he had a problem. The king was a violent man and his jealousy turned to hatred and attempted murder. David’s flashy entrance quickly became a seven-year trial during which time his character was formed and he went from being a cliché-spouting, quasi-Christian to becoming a man of God.

During his years of running and hiding, the pressure on David was relentless. 1 Samuel 23:14 says, “Saul sought him every day.” Three thousand battle-hardened mercenaries were sent to find and kill the upstart and while David was not yet the man of God he would become, his character was being formed in the furnace of affliction. David’s inexperience under such profound pressure caused him to make mistakes, one of which was to compromise and enter the enemy territory of self-reliance.

Hounded by Saul’s warriors, David crossed over into the land of the Philistines and lied in an attempt to get into their good graces. 1 Samuel 27:4 tells us that when Saul heard about David’s crossing over, he called off his army. It seemed that the pressure was off David— or was it? David had crossed a line into the enemy’s camp; he had crossed the line of compromise. 1 Samuel 27:1-2 exposes the heart of David’s failure at this time: “David thought to himself…the best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines.” When David crossed the line and stopped trusting God for everything, and decided to take things into his own hands, he began to see what a lie he was living. The lying and compromise had only begun and the pressure from which he sought relief continued.

One of the great concerns I have about the church today is the tremendous emphasis being put upon self-confidence, self-reliance. Let me say this as directly as I can. When we enter into the realm of self-reliance or when self-confidence becomes too large a part of our Christian experience, we can count on the strength and wisdom of heaven departing just as it did in David’s case. How does the emergence of self-reliance show up in the church? Trust me, this is not rocket science. When there is a descending or nonexistent value placed on prayer (private and corporate), self-reliance and self-confidence have taken its place and the strength and wisdom of heaven has departed. And this is the way it is in much of the church today.

David’s self-will caused him to enter into a life of deceit. Some of the Philistines believed his glib song and dance routine but most didn’t. One of the Philistine kings gave David the city of Ziklag for the home of his army and it was from there that David and his men went out raiding to get provisions to support their families. The Philistines thought David was raiding in Jewish territory and he lied to them and said he was, but he actually was raiding nomadic tribes that were not friends of the Jews or Philistines. Self-reliance leads one to a life of compromise.

David and his men returned home after a raid and found their city burned to the ground. Their families had been taken captive by the Amalekites (1 Samuel 29) and the men were devastated, heartbroken. They wept aloud over the tragedy—the Bible says they wept until they had no strength left to weep. In their deep distress, the warriors became angry at David and spoke of killing him and David finally came to his senses. He reached rock bottom and realized what his compromise had done…but he got back on the road to victory!

“David encouraged himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6). I think we put the wrong spin on this statement. We tend to view this as David reminding himself of all the good things God had done for him and then he was built up and encouraged. While I am sure that eventually happened, the first thing David had to do to get back on the victory road was get back in right relationship with God. The word encourage means “to make sure, make strong, to repair something that has been broken.” That happened when “David inquired of the Lord” (30:8). David dropped the presumption of self-will, acknowledged his failure, and in humility asked God what he should do. God quickly answered His heartbroken child and when David put his hand in his Father’s hand, he was saying, “I can’t do this on my own. I’ve tried and failed. Look at the mess I’m in. Father, lead me to victory!”

The rest of the story is triumphant. God gave David and his men the direction they needed to get back on the road to victory. They got their families, their possessions, and more back from the Amalekites and David went on to become the greatest warrior king in the history of Israel.

Mark well what I am about to say. Within two days of David’s returning from his successful expedition to recover all that had been lost, word reached David that Saul was dead. Coincidence? I think not! The road to victory was solidified for David when he humbled himself and inquired of the Lord. God then had David’s tormentor removed and David went on to do what God had called him to.

Important to finding and staying on the road to victory is dealing with the presumption of self-will. Until you can freely pray, “Not my will but thine be done,” as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, you will find the road to victory elusive and the wisdom and strength of heaven a faint memory.