Variety: 1 Samuel24v3–4

There was a cave and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. The men of David said to him, ‘Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, “I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him, as it seems good to you.”’ 1 Samuel24v3–4

Imagine: there it is, what you’ve always wanted, long prayed for, what you’re certain God has promised you, what you’ve been holding out for all these years. Perhaps the partner who shares your passions for chess, chilli, and jumping out of aeroplanes, or the job so perfect you could have written the job description yourself.

But there’s just one thing: the perfect partner squirms whenever you talk about Jesus in public; the job is in a company notorious for dark dealing.

Few incidents more clearly illuminate David’s fierce, DNA-deep trust in God than sparing Saul’s life in the cave at En-gedi. After all, Saul has been trying to kill him for years. He tried to spear him to the palace wall twice, sent a kill-team to his home, and is now pursuing him with 3,000 men. But hasn’t David been a good and faithful servant, soldier, music therapist, son-in-law, commander? Oh, the injustice! The ingratitude! The vindictiveness!

So now, as Saul goes to relieve himself in the very cave where David and his men are hiding, this is surely the opportunity to eliminate his relentless adversary. Self-defence really. Surely, as David’s men urge him, this is God’s provision. After all, didn’t God promise to defeat your enemies? And haven’t you been anointed king? Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

But there’s just one thing.

God’s goals must be pursued in God’s ways.

David will not kill the Lord’s anointed, even though it would have made his life and his men’s lives so much easier – in the short term. David will not break God’s laws to fulfil God’s promises. Similarly, when Satan offers Jesus an instant, cross-free way to rule over all the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:9), he refuses, submitting to his Father’s will, his Father’s ways, and his Father’s timing.

Our challenges in the West are rarely so extreme as David’s, but opportunities abound to grasp for personal advantage in ungodly if culturally acceptable ways. Paying cash to avoid VAT, telling a beige lie, exaggerating our contribution to the project’s success or downplaying someone else’s, feigning agreement with a dubious policy or solidarity with a popular person’s opinions.

Don’t look at a gift horse in the mouth – look at it through the lens of God’s word. As David and Jesus did.

Mark Greene