Catch Me If You Can!

By Samantha Rodriguez

“David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.’ The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh. The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, ‘Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.’ Saul replied, ‘The Lord bless you for your concern for me. Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.’ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David. Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, a messenger came to Saul, saying, ‘Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.’ Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth. And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.”—1 Samuel 23:14–29 (NIV)

It’s incredible to think about how many times Saul tries to kill David. At this point, it seems as if David is just saying, “Catch me if you can!” In today’s passage, David’s not only on the run again, but he and his team are actually traveling on opposite sides of the same mountain! I don’t know about you, but this chase seems terrifying and straight out of an adventure movie. The first thing that comes to my mind, though, is the question of why God would let it get this intense. As someone who is not good with suspense, I can’t imagine how David survived!

That’s the whole point, though, right? David’s situation put him in a place of desperate dependence on the Lord. Many of the psalms, such as Psalm 36 and 57, are written by David while he’s on the run. In these experiences, he’s able to cry out to God for help and take refuge in Him. We get to learn from David’s moments of crisis what it looks like to be vulnerable and honest with God, worship Him in the hard moments, and continue living in obedience trusting He’ll protect us.

Psalm 54 is the specific psalm we know traces back to this story. The superscription of this psalm says in the NIV, “When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, ‘Is not David hiding among us?’” In this short psalm, David does each of the following things:

·He makes his requests known to God. David prays in desperation and honesty, including a description of the situation he’s in with his enemies. In all of this, he appeals to God’s character!

·He reassures himself of who he knows God to be. David clings to truth and lets that be his anchor of hope. He also knows God is just, and he can leave justice in His hands!

·He offers sacrificial worship. David’s a great example of worshiping God both preemptively and after deliverance. Because of his personal relationship with God, he could trust and worship Him in the midst of uncertainty.

Aside from David’s example, I also want to take a final look at Saul in this story. Saul assumes a lot in his leadership and life, and in this story, he assumes that the seemingly favorable circumstances are proof of God’s approval of his behavior. When the people give over information about David’s whereabouts, he even says, “God bless you.”

It may seem crazy when we read about it, but we can easily fall prey to the same thought process if we aren’t cautious. I know there have been moments where I’ve convinced myself that something is “good” for me when it really isn’t. We do this with small things every day, so I can imagine it isn’t that hard to start doing it with our spiritual lives either. That’s why we must build a solid and authentic relationship with God. The more time we spend with Him, like David did, the more we’ll truly recognize and understand His voice! This way, we can guard our hearts against following our voice instead of God’s.

Pause: How do you sometimes confuse your voice for Gods? Do you spend enough time with God to know His voice like David did?

Practice: Set aside some more time than usual today to sit with God. Pray to Him like David did, perhaps even using Psalm 54. Then, let yourself sit in silence with the Scripture meditating in your heart and mind.

Pray: Father God, I want to know and trust You like David did. Even in the midst of uncertainty and even scary situations, I want to be able to follow You and worship You. Here is my honest and whole heart. I’m quieting it to listen for Your voice. Show me how I can live in complete surrender. Thank You for promising provision and protection. Thank You for Your unfailing grace and eternal hope! I love You. Amen.