David’s Story: Signs of Spiritual Exhaustion

1 Samuel 27-31

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. Moses. DAVID. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

“My dad’s in Ziklag,” a teenager told me during a sermon series I preached years ago. In that series, we followed David during the time he was running from Saul. After eight and a half years as a fugitive, David said, “I’m done,” and escaped to Philistine territory. He settled in the remote town of Ziklag. In those messages, Ziklag came to represent the place we go to hide from God– as if that were possible.

David stayed in Ziklag for eighteen months. Our own trips to Ziklag may take the form of ten-minute pity parties, regular visits to inappropriate internet sites, or, like David, we may move there and settle in. Whether our excursion into enemy territory is brief or prolonged, Ziklag is a dangerous place with disastrous repercussions.

Last time, we considered what happened to David while he was living among the enemy. Today, let's identify some telltale warning signs to help us know when we might be tempted to take a detour. By recognizing these “red flags,” we will be cognizant of when we are getting too close to Ziklag.

Warning Sign #1: A Chronic Spiritual Struggle
By definition, chronic pain is a physical issue you have for six months or longer.  It wreaks havoc on your body. Likewise, a chronic spiritual struggle wreaks havoc on your soul. It can come from a loss, disappointment, discouragement, or disillusionment. The commentator Matthew Henry wrote, “Long trials are in danger of tiring the faith and patience even of very good men.”

Long before Henry, Job wrote, “Surely now God has worn me out…” (Job 16:7).

After running for eight years, David said, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul” (1 Sam. 27:1 NIV).

Our response to David’s concern might be, “But wait a second, David–you were anointed by Samuel, remember?”

David could counter, “Haven’t you heard? Samuel is dead. Maybe the old prophet was wrong, or maybe I misunderstood. If the promise were true, God would have shown up by now. It’s obvious I am not going to be king, and sooner or later Saul is going to kill me.”

Warning Sign #2: Self-counsel
Self-counsel is a solitary exercise: I rationalize my actions, insist on getting my way, and make decisions based on my feelings in the moment rather than on the truth of God’s Word. This is an issue for David in 1 Samuel 27:1: “But David thought to himself.”

Scripture has something to say about self-counsel. Proverbs tells us that the fool is always right “in his own eyes” (Prov. 12:15) and, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool” (Prov. 28:26).

Self-counsel leads to self-deception. God’s promises begin to seem illusory, therefore we start acting independently of him, validating our choices by their temporary results. David’s plan to hide from Saul initially seemed to be the best solution. When “it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him” (1 Sam. 27:4).

I wrote this in my book Worn Out By Obedience:

Self-counsel will eventually lead to sin’s mastery over our thoughts and actions. God’s instruction is pushed aside; his truth is discounted. We give into our sinful thinking, are absorbed by our sinful desires, and move to sinful action. Self-counsel sidelines God.[1]

Warning Sign #3: Overreaction
In 1 Samuel 25, David received the news that Samuel was dead. Perhaps David wondered if God’s promise had died with the prophet.

After Samuel’s death, David and his men needed food and asked Nabal, a wealthy man in their area, for help. When Nabal refused, David took four hundred soldiers to slaughter Nabal and his servants. Four hundred soldiers against a few shepherds. Just a bit of an overreaction!

Thankfully, Nabal’s wife, Abigail, met David and his men with supplies and talked him out of the massacre. David told Abigail:

1 Samuel 25:33-34
Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! For as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.

David thanked Abigail for preventing him from doing what he would have regretted.

Warning Sign #4: Spiritual High
I know it seems counterintuitive, but we are often vulnerable after a spiritual victory. It’s noteworthy that David decided to go to Ziklag right after he demonstrated incredible spiritual fortitude. Twice, David had the opportunity to kill Saul and refused because he knew Saul was God’s anointed. Each time Saul praised David and promised not to continue the pursuit. But David knew Saul’s noble promises were empty.

It’s so critical for us to understand that obedience doesn’t always produce immediate rewards. After each victory, Saul went home, but David stayed in the caves of Engedi fearing for his life (1 Sam. 24:22; 26:25).

It was after his second spiritual victory that David chose to flee to the land of the Philistines and took refuge in Ziklag.

David was not the only one left vulnerable after doing the right thing. Moses grew weary leading the grumbling Israelites. Elijah, too, reached a breaking point. After his victorious showdown with four hundred fifty prophets of Baal, he ran for his life when he heard Jezebel was after him! He cried, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life…” (1 Kgs. 19:4).

So heed the warning signs and next time we’ll see how our strength is restored.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read and reflect on 1 Samuel 27-31. In what ways are you relying on self-counsel instead of seeking God through his Word?

Talking to God: Ask God to keep you grounded in his Word.

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THE LIVING GROUNDED YOUTUBE CHANNEL
I invite you to visit the Living Grounded YouTube channel, where we share conversations to help you stay rooted in your faith. Be sure to check out The Living Grounded Podcast with Cliff Graham. Cliff is the author of The Lion of War series, based on the life of David, which Tunch Ilkin introduced me to years ago. See Episode 124 here: [Living Grounded YouTube Channel].

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