David’s Life has taken some interesting twists and turns already. In many ways God has come through for David in many ways already. He has been anointed as king, defeated goliath and the Philistines fear his name. 1st Samuel 19 changes the story considerably as David despite his successes finds himself having to run from Saul in a more permanent form than just avoiding his spears when Saul is mad. He has to get away permanently.
The issue of how God delivers people form their troubles is an interesting one because as Aslan says in the Chronicles on Narnia, it is never the same way twice. God is in the midst of our troubles and does not often just get rid of them. Sometimes he lets us face them and fond his path out. Sometimes there is more than one way God can deliver us and we need to be actively looking for it. Chapter 19 of 1st Samuel is a good example of this.
David is first delivered through friendship as Jonathan intercedes with Saul on his behalf as he returns to Saul’s’ presence. David fights the Philistines again and defeats them only to come home to Saul once again trying to kill him directly with a spear (that’s the third time if you’re keeping score). When Saul has agents surround his house-top take him to kill him, his wife Michal comes up with a plan to get him away by lowering him out the window and using the household idol to pretend he is in bed sick. David ends up with Samuel and when Saul tries to get him first through messengers and later himself directly, he and they end up prophesying and being humbled by God directly through the Holy Spirit.
What this shows is God’s deliverance is multifaceted and sometimes is comes in the form of friends, clever family members and direct intervention but the path can lead us down some ways. The real issue for us is to be open to whatever because the real issue is our growing in our understanding of God when we go through troubles, not getting worried about them and looking for the path God wants to show us. Sometimes that may mean god asks us to fight, sometimes we have to run and sometimes he just asks us to sit still and watch him work more directly. The real issue is our maturity as his children. David really understands this and one of the Psalms he wrote (Psalm 59) was from this time in his life and in particular the time Saul surrounded his house. Instead of turning to his sword to deliver him he turns to his harp and sings to God of his trust in Him.
For us, the question is always one of our growing in God and we often don’t see how much God uses troubles and difficulties to shape us into better people and disciples of Christ. It is the testing of our faith in these times when we are looking for how God is going to come though this time that does the most to shape our character. If the world was always a padded rubber room we would never mature as people or believers and perhaps if we want to be more of God’s heart, we need to start understanding this.