David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. “Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?” 2 “The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. 3 Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.” 4 “We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently.” 5 “Don’t worry,” David replied. “I never allow my men to be with women when they are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!” 6 Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the LORD in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread. 7 Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief herdsman, was there that day, having been detained before the LORD. 8 David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword? The king’s business was so urgent that I didn’t even have time to grab a weapon!” 9 “I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.” “There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!” 10 So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. 11 But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” 12 David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. 13 So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. 14 Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? 15 We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?” – 1 Samuel 21:1-15 (NLT)
While the Bible is full of stories about people facing shattered dreams, none are quite as exciting to me as the story of David in the Old Testament. So, let me set up our Bible story for today: It happens in the midst of other events in David’s life. So, let me step back for a moment and tell you how David got to this place called Nob and his conversation with the priest there—where he took the consecrated bread for he and his men, as well as Goliath’s sword for his own protection… Here’s the summary:
In 1 Samuel 15, we read about a king of Israel named Saul. Saul rejects the word of God, does some things God’s not happy with, and loses God’s blessing upon his life. The prophet Samuel even tells King Saul that one of his neighbors will become king … and will be a much better king than he was.
In 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel sets out to find this new king. He knew that he would be found in the home of Jesse of Bethlehem. So Samuel goes there, looks over all of Jesse’s sons, and determines that its David who’s supposed to be the next king of Israel. The youngest son in the family was usually the least privileged, but that didn’t seem to bother God any…
In 1 Samuel 17, we find the story of David & Goliath. David, the young shepherd boy, goes to the battle front (where the Israelites were fighting the Philistines) to take food to his brothers. Long story short, young David takes on Goliath … and kills him with a well-placed stone from his sling. The tides are now turning in David’s life. King Saul gives him a special rank in the army … and wants him to marry one of his daughters. Maybe, just maybe, the old guy was right. Maybe, like Samuel said, he really will become king one day…
A dream begins to turn into reality. David’s hope is growing; everything seems to be falling into place. But then things start to change… David’s not sure what the deal is, but something about King Saul is different. Its little things at first—a roll of the eyes, an irritated glance. Little hints that the king isn’t entirely happy with David. Then one day there’s a Jerry Springer kind of a moment. Saul throws a spear at David, and David’s fears are substantiated. Even if you’re relationally challenged, getting a spear thrown at you is a pretty good hint that something is wrong. And something is very wrong. David, you see, has been getting way too popular … and Saul has grown jealous and bitter in the process. Jonathan, Saul’s son, came to David his friend and basically said: “Dude, my dad wants to kill you. He’s going to do whatever it takes to get rid of you. You have to get out of here!”
It is at this point in David’s life that he stops trusting in God … and begins to take things into his own hands … and he runs. Did you see the shift in circumstances here? (Plan B apparently = David in control.) Have you ever been there? How have you responded to circumstantial shifts (Plan Bs) in your life? I WISH LIFE WAS MORE LIKE THIS…
My wife Jane loves to watch mysteries with a lot of suspense and action. Me? Not so much … because my life seems to be full of that already. But, I go to watch those movies with Jane and the rest of our family, especially at Christmas. This past Christmas, we all went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. (Any of you seen it?) It’s one of those movies that, at times, you are right on the edge of your seat … just waiting to see what’s going to happen next. I have to say this about this type of movie, however: At least they give you fair warning that something terrible or something exciting is about to happen. The camera angle shifts, the music grows sinister, a shadow looms. Something tells you, ‘Watch out!’
Folks, don’t you wish that life was that way? But it’s not—not even close. Our dreams seem to shatter when we least expect it. There’s no warning. You can’t explain it. It’s just … boom! Suddenly, life’s going in a whole different direction … than you’d planed. You move from Plan A …to Plan B…
That’s what King David found out in today’s Bible story. As people of God, we so often assume that what we want for our lives—and more importantly how we want it—is what God wants for us as well. But, then the problem is this: What we assumed is not necessarily what’s happened…
So, here comes the ‘Plan B’… What’s that all about? Plan A—our perfect plan for our lives—comes to an abrupt stop. And the realization of Plan B hits us in a variety of ways:
A horrible diagnosis…
An illness or a death…
A loss of a job … and/or a tough financial situation…
Or a ‘happy’ relationship that you suddenly find out … isn’t really all that ‘happy’ … and it’s about to end…
Folks, sooner or later, everyone experiences these shifts in life. But, how are we going to handle them? That’s the question. Well, first, we need to know that…
EVERYONE NEEDS HEALING! Why? Because Plan Bs happen to everyone! Again, what we assumed would happen in our lives—what we assumed God wanted for us too—is not necessarily what has happened … and we get hurt & need healing. Here’re some examples: Nobody grew up thinking…
I’m going to get cancer at 41 … or fired at 53…
I’m going to be divorced twice by 45 … or alone and depressed at age 35…
Nobody ever thought…
They’d be physically unable to have children…
They’d get stuck in a dead-end job that they absolutely hate… OR…
The word used to describe their marriage would be ‘mediocre’…
But, it happens … and then we’re frustrated, hurt, and angry. If this doesn’t sound familiar to you, it will eventually. Because life is a series of moving from Plan As … to Plan Bs. But, the question remains: How do we adapt? How are we going to handle the Plan B situations that’ve been forced on us in life?
How’s the old saying go? “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans!” (Woody Allen) … and this is what David was finding out. He was on his way to be king! The tide had finally turned! He could quit his day (or night) job of tending sheep. He was promoted in the army. He was going to get to marry the king’s daughter. Things were really looking up. His hope had been built … but then… (Don’t you love those two words that seem to change everything … including our lives?) David’s life seemed to come crashing down around him! How was he going to handle this situation? One thing I know is that…
RUNNING IS NOT THE ANSWER … IN PLAN B SITUATIONS! When we choose to run (whatever form), it always leads to trouble! And, if you haven’t figured it out by now, there are two kinds of Plan Bs:
There’s the kind that just happen in life, because we live in an imperfect (i.e. sinful, fallen, etc.) world … and because God wants us to have free will, God cannot be the Puppet Master that makes everything O.K. in every life situation…
Then, there’s the kind that is our fault—the kind of Plan B situation we encounter because of dumb moves on our part—like running, when we should be looking to God…
In a matter of minutes, David feels his dream of becoming king is slipping away. Fearing for his life, he does what so many of us have done when we felt our dreams slipping away. He runs. Before Saul knows it, he’s gone!
Remember, the Spirit of God began to work in David’s life in a special way when he was anointed by Samuel. Up to this point, he was confident God was with him; he believed God would make him king. But now, when everything seemed to be going wrong, David lost faith that God would come through … and decides to take matters into his own hands… And here, David is making a huge mistake! It’s the same mistake that so many of us have made throughout our lifetimes. He assumes he understands God and his ways. He thinks he knows what God should be doing. And when God doesn’t handle things the way David expects, David just gives up… Folks, we get ourselves into all kinds of trouble when we assume God must think and feel the way we do! And, desperation takes over. However, please know this about desperate situations…
When desperation gets the better of you & you feel like running, know that God may be right around the corner!
Did you know that lying is just another form of running? That’s what David did…
He lied to Ahimelech, the priest … hoping that he’d help him out…
He lies about what he’s doing in Nob…
He lies about being on the run…
He lies about the state of his spiritual life…
All that lying (another form of running)… And then David tells another lie. And it’s in the midst of this lie that God provides David with a moment that he totally misses, because he’s too busy running (lying)…
David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword? The king’s business was so urgent that I didn’t even have time to grab a weapon!” 9 “I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.” “There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!”
Do you see what’s happening here? Though David has given up on God, God has not given up on David! He places a reminder of his faithfulness right before David’s eyes, but David missed it…
The sword that Ahimelech offers David should have been a wake-up call for David! It was Goliath’s—the giant David slain, with God’s help, when it looked impossible to everyone else! He should have thought, at this point: What am I doing? Why am I running? Why am I lying and deceiving and taking matters into my own hands … instead of trusting God? But, he doesn’t. He grabs the sword and keeps on running!
Running, by this time, had become an addiction for David. It’s what David did to fill up his life, so that he didn’t have to face what was really going on—what he did instead of dealing with his Plan B situation… And because of that, the pain in David’s life continued. Instead of trusting God for his life at this point, David wants to take control … and that’s what the running is all about. David just wants control of his life … and that’s a big part of the problem (which we’ll continue talking about next week)…
Folks, in the midst of our Plan B situations, we sometimes feel at our lowest—spiritually, emotionally, and physically. But, know this: God does his best work in our lives when we finally become broken bread and poured out wine! Are you feeling like you’ve reached a low point right now? Are you feeling like you can’t trust God for your current situation … and you really need to control yourself? If so, know this:
God may be waiting right around the corner…
God wants to remind you of his faithfulness…
Are you going to be so busy running (being in control) that you miss it?
If you’re in the middle of a Plan B situation right now, whatever you do … don’t give up on God, because—just like with David—I know that God has not given up on you (or your life)!