September 3 | Pastor Jason
Dave in a cave.
What do you do when things don’t turn out like you thought they would?
What do you do when things take a turn for the worst?
1 Samuel 24:1-3
1After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. 3He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.
- “Cover his feet”
1 Samuel 24:4
The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
Bad circumstances in your life aren’t always a sign that God has abandoned you and favorable circumstances in your life doesn’t mean God is in it.
You’ll never get God’s will by doing things your way.
1 Samuel 24:5-6
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.”
1 Samuel 24:12-13
12May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.
- Out of the wicked comes wickedness.
Your sin isn’t a license for me to sin.
1 Samuel 24:16-22
16When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17“You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.” 22So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
- What do you do when things don’t turn out like you thought they would?
Psalm 57:1-2
1Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
David knew that waiting on God to fulfill His purpose was better than taking matters into his own hands.
The greatest enemy in your life isn’t Saul, it’s your inability to wait on God while you’re in a cave.
What do you do when things don’t turn out like you thought the would?
I will wait on the Lord.
If your career has stalled… I will wait on the Lord.
If you’re tired of being single… I will wait on the Lord.
If you’re not financially where you want to be… I will wait on the Lord.
If you’re in a pasture wondering if God will ever use you… I will wait on the Lord.
If your kids are not where they should be… I will wait on the Lord.
If you’re on the run hiding in a cave… I will wait on the Lord.