Growing up in the countryside there were some lessons taught to me when dealing with wildlife. One of which was never let your dog chase a raccoon into deep water. Raccoons are able to drown dogs if the water is deep enough. Another lesson I was taught was that if I saw a badger den I should stay far away from it. There is nothing more fierce in nature than a mother badger defending her young. Badgers have no qualms about attacking animals that are much larger than they are. They are fearless.
In the Bible there are few more fearless than David. He faced a giant that an entire army of Israelite warriors were not willing to fight. He fought many great battles and had to deal with many enemies throughout his life. David’s confidence was not in his fighting skills. It was in the Lord.
This trust and confidence is echoed in Psalm 27. In verses 1-3 David declares:
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
What is unique about David is that he often had this confidence before, during and after a battle or trial. We see this confidence when his son Absalom tried to take over the kingdom. Absalom was able to win the hearts of the people in Israel and to gain enough support to allow him to possibly take Jerusalem. In 2nd Samuel 15:13-14 we read, “A messenger came and told David, ‘The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.’ Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, ‘Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword.’”
And so David fled the city with his family and officials. You would think that David would be scared for his life. I know that I would be. Most people would have stayed in Jerusalem and hid behind the fortified walls. But David didn’t put his trust in walls. Psalm 3 was written by David when he was fleeing from Absalom. It gives us a glimpse into David’s mindset at this time. In verses 5-6 David declares:
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
It is plausible to think that David had to deal with some of the same doubts and fears that all of us would have. But David had been through this before when fleeing from Saul. He had seen God deliver him many times. So David was able to praise God in this time and find rest in him. He knew God and he knew that no one could prevent God’s will from being done. Therefore his hope was not in walls or armies or strategy. We too are able to find this confidence in God as we grow in our knowledge of him. And we too can learn to praise him in the trials of life.
Adam
