Episode 86 – Heart Lessons – The Abiding Heart

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Life is hard at times. Our hearts often get bruised and battered yet God offers us words that help and heal those hearts when we turn to him. Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast, where we study his word and find strength for the day. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries.

Nicole (00:29):

Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast. This is episode 86, The Abiding Heart. We’re currently doing a series called Heart Lessons, Learning from the Life of David. He was certainly a larger than life character in so many ways. So far we’ve studied how to keep a quiet heart before the Lord so we can hear him and draw near. We’ve studied David’s worshipful heart and have been challenged to praise God out loud with more in songs and words. That Goliath story energized us to take courage. God is our God and mighty to save. And last week we saw the value of a loyal heart as David and Jonathan made tough choices to keep their promises. So now Sharon, here we are at the abiding heart. What are we learning about today?

Sharon (01:11):

Well, I really wrestled with a name on this one, Nicole. I almost called it the hiding heart because we are going with David into hiding as he runs from Saul and finds refuge in caves and wilderness areas. But even though he’s in hiding, he’s also still abiding with God. To abide is to live with, right next to, and we can do that anywhere,(Nicole: Yeah) even in the darkest times of our lives, the cave times. But let’s start with the hiding part. Did you ever play hide and seek as a kid?

Nicole (01:45):

Oh, yes. That was a favorite game of mine, not so much my little sister. I was a really good hider and I loved to jump out and scare poor Sammy when she got closer.

Sharon (01:54):

Nicole.

Nicole (01:56):

I know. I was such a mean big sister. But oh, she was so fun to scare.

Sharon (02:01):

Poor little Sammy!

Nicole (02:02):

I know. And sometimes, we had bunk beds and I would run up for bed before she would get up there and jump behind her bed. So when she came up to get into bed, I’d jump up and grab her. So I have offered to pay for her therapy.

Sharon (02:13):

Very kind of you.

Nicole (02:14):

She was afraid of the dark for a while.

Sharon (02:16):

So I was more like your sister. I was more like a little scared of hiding and I can remember my little heart beating so hard. Will they find me? And then also what if they don’t find me?

Nicole (02:27):

Oh yeah.

Sharon (02:28):

How long should I stay before—?

Nicole (02:30):

It’s all a concern.

Sharon (02:31):

Yeah. And then trying to race back. Didn’t you have to race back and tag somebody before you got caught?

Nicole (02:38):

Oh yeah. We never did that. With lots of kids you had to run and touch it. But yeah, I think my sister and I just practiced scaring each other. Mostly me.

Sharon (02:42):

You just practiced scaring each other. Mostly you. Okay then. Well, I hid in the bushes in the backyard once for an entire afternoon. That was interesting. I don’t know what my mother did that upset me, but I was about four.

Nicole (02:53):

Yeah.

Sharon (02:54):

And I decided to run away from home.

Nicole (02:56):

Oh no.

Sharon (02:57):

And my mother in all her wisdom said, all right, I’ll help you pack. It was kind of hurtful. I’m like, this is not the response I thought I’d get.

Nicole (03:06):

Oh my goodness.

Sharon (03:07):

So she helped me pack. She said, do you need any cookies or anything to take? And I took a couple of cookies.

Nicole (03:12):

Of course, you never know what’s going to happen.

Sharon (03:14):

And I marched out to the front yard and at four I never left the front yard. I hid behind a bush until she was really sorry.

Nicole (03:24):

I was gonna say, I wonder where you went in your ‘four-ness”.

Sharon (03:26):

Yes. In my “four-ness” I hid in a bush. In which my mother could see me the whole time.

Nicole (03:31):

Oh yeah. Of course.

Sharon (03:31):

From a window. So she never came to get me. (Nicole: Right.) So I just sat out there for hours thinking nobody loves me.

Nicole (03:38):

Just sitting in this bush.

Sharon (03:41):

It was so ridiculous. It was really boring. And then I came back in the house and she fed me (Nicole: Oh good) and it was all over and I never ran away again. I have no moral to this story at all. Except that, it was the time of hiding for me.

Nicole (03:54):

I’ll remember that if any of my kids ask to run away.

Sharon (03:56):

She was so calm. It was so funny. But maybe if I’d walked further than the bush, she would’ve been more scared. So, but sometimes hiding is more serious. And, you know, I’ll never forget Corrie ten Boom’s house in Netherlands.

Nicole (04:10):

Oh you went there, Oh my goodness.

Sharon (04:10):

We went there. And it’s so funny cause we only spent, at that point, Katherine was in Germany and we spent just three days in the Netherlands. (Nicole: Yeah) And we didn’t have time to see both Anne Frank’s Museum and Corrie ten Boom’s house. And of course I voted for Corrie ten Boom’s house. (Nicole: Yeah) I didn’t really want a museum. I wanted to see a house. I wanted to see it the way it was and they have preserved her home the way it was. So they have these really steep stairs that you almost climb like a ladder. (Nicole: Wow) And they have the same pictures hanging, a lot of them. I got to play her piano.

Nicole (04:43):

Oh, wow!

Sharon (04:43):

Oh my goodness. That was the coolest.

Nicole (04:45):

Oh, that’s so cool.

Sharon (04:46):

It really was. Can’t believe they let me play it still, but they did. They did. They were so nice.

Nicole (04:51):

Oh.

Sharon (04:51):

And they were there to share the truth of the gospel too.

Nicole (04:55):

Oh, that’s wonderful.

Sharon (04:56):

So it’s not a museum. It’s a place to share Jesus still to this day.

Nicole (05:00):

And isn’t that what Corrie would’ve wanted for sure?

Sharon (05:02):

Yes. But the coolest thing and the weirdest thing was standing in the hiding place. (Nicole: Wow) They had opened up the wall. You could stand inside it.

Nicole (05:11):

Yeah.

Sharon (05:11):

I can’t imagine seven people, frozen in place, barely having room to move about, you know, having to lay down sort of in shifts and all cramped, not daring to breathe while the Nazis searched the house again.

Nicole (05:25):

Oh my goodness. That must have been awful.

Sharon (05:26):

It was freaky being there and thinking, how did they do it?

Nicole (05:32):

Right.

Sharon (05:32):

How did they stay so still? How did they handle all the nastiness that goes along with seven people having to stay there for like 24 hours and not get away from each other.

Nicole (05:43):

Right.

Sharon (05:43):

It was so small.

Nicole (05:44):

Oh my goodness.

Sharon (05:45):

It’s like a big closet.

Nicole (05:45):

Really?

Sharon (05:46):

Yeah. (Nicole: Wow) It was so small. Unbelievable.

Nicole (05:49):

That is so scary.

Sharon (05:50):

So it’s not like an attic, you know, Anne Frank had an attic. (Nicole: Right) No, no. They had a very small hiding place. So, so it can be, be serious to hide. Not, not silly, you know?

Nicole (06:00):

Right, right.

Sharon (06:01):

David’s hiding was deadly serious too. Just like the Jews hiding in that hiding place for Corrie ten Boom. Saul had actively tried to spear him to a wall twice. And Saul was relentless in his pursuit of David. (Nicole: Yeah) He saw him as a very real threat to the throne. So Nicole, why don’t you introduce and read our first passage of the day as David is learning how to live on the run in hiding.

Nicole (06:25):

Yeah.

Sharon (06:25):

This poor kid. We’re gonna anoint you king.

Nicole (06:27):

Right.

Sharon (06:28):

Now we’re gonna try to spear you. Now run away and hide.

Nicole (06:31):

Now run for your life.

Sharon (06:31):

Some life.

Nicole (06:32):

What a huge change from where he was at. Yeah. So he’s fallen from grace. Saul is after him and this is the start of the cave years, we’re gonna call them.

Sharon (06:41):

Okay.

Nicole (06:41):

And we’re gonna read 1 Samuel 22:1-4. “So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all other relatives joined him there. Then others began coming. Men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented until David was the captain of about 400 men.”

Sharon (07:02):

Oh my word. Wow.

Nicole (07:04):

That got crowded pretty fast.

Sharon (07:05):

Yeah. Yeah. See, David had a charismatic personality.

Nicole (07:08):

He must have.

Sharon (07:09):

Didn’t he.

Nicole (07:10):

To draw people. He was in hiding and to draw that many men.

Sharon (07:12):

Oh yeah.

Nicole (07:13):

Kind of all the underdogs and the outcasts. Like, we’re going join him in the cave.

Sharon (07:15):

We’re going to join David. Yeah.

Nicole (07:17):

Yeah, must have been a big cave too. “So later David went to Mizpah in Moab where he asked the king, please allow my father and mother to live here with you until I know what God is going to do for me. So David’s parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.” So that’s sweet. He also took time to make sure his parents are taken care of while he was (Sharon: Yes, yes) in hiding. So that’s so sweet.

Sharon (07:40):

Such a good son.

Nicole (07:41):

That’s a good man. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (07:43):

Yeah, yeah. And they would’ve gone after his family. Wouldn’t they?

Nicole (07:45):

Oh, that’s true.

Sharon (07:46):

That’s what you do. (Nicole: Yeah) To get somebody to come outta hiding. Right?

Nicole (07:49):

Mm-hmm. So he was very thoughtful. So yeah, that must have gotten pretty crowded. I wonder if he expected so many people to join him so quickly.

Sharon (07:57):

Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole (07:57):

Four hundred people. It’s not a small amount of people.

Sharon (07:59):

Four hundred, hiding in caves. Big caves.

Nicole (08:02):

Yeah. I was thinking a small little cave by himself. So when he said 400 men I said it must have been a much larger cave.

Sharon (08:07):

A much larger cave. I just watched a sort of a documentary movie on the 12 soccer kids from Thailand in 2018 (Nicole: Yes) who were trapped in a cave.

Nicole (08:17):

Oh my gosh.

Sharon (08:18):

They were over two kilometers inside this mountain. So that cave went on forever. It really did. I know it. Oh my goodness. What a story? (Nicole: I know) You should definitely see that story.

Nicole (08:28):

So caves are a lot bigger than we think they are.

Sharon (08:29):

Yes they are. Yes they are. So what I liked about this passage though, in verse three, the second part, you know, he is talking to the King of Moab saying, could my father and mother live there with you. And here’s the part I love: until I know what God is going to do for me.

Nicole (08:43):

Isn’t that sweet.

Sharon (08:44):

I love that phrase because David’s trusting God’s gonna do something. He has no idea what. He has no idea when.

Nicole (08:51):

Yeah. Wow.

Sharon (08:51):

But he’s abiding. He is still trusting God. Until I know what God’s up to. (Nicole: Right) We’re just gonna hide out in caves and keep my family safe.

Nicole (09:00):

So he knew the cave time was part of God’s timeline for him.

Sharon (09:03):

Yeah.

Nicole (09:04):

He didn’t seem like, Oh, I’m stuck. Everything’s a mess. So help me out. He’s like, oh, this is what, this is the path God has for me.

Sharon (09:09):

Right.

Nicole (09:10):

That’s pretty wise.

Sharon (09:10):

That’s abiding.

Nicole (09:11):

His acceptance of it and he’s abiding with God.

Sharon (09:13):

Yeah. He’s living with God, in the midst, until I know what he will do. As opposed to, would you tell me what you’re doing God? Which is kind of my thing a lot. I don’t like uncertainty. Could you just tell me?

Nicole (09:25):

Yes. I feel like I see the cave entrance and I’m like, hold on God, you probably don’t want me to go here. What’s going on?

Sharon (09:29):

Right? Right. Or how about this? Just tell me how many years I have to be in this cave?

Nicole (09:34):

Yes.

Sharon (09:34):

Right?

Nicole (09:34):

Oh my word that would be terrible.

Sharon (09:35):

But you never know. You’re going through trouble. You have no idea how long? (Nicole: Nope) And David’s just, well, until God tells me.

Nicole (09:42):

Oh, David to have a heart more like that.

Sharon (09:43):

Okay, so. Well, I’m gonna read now from 1 Samuel 23:7-18. Saul was relentless. So here we go. As they continue to hide, David’s parents are safe.

Nicole (09:56):

That’s good.

Sharon (09:56):

He’s got 400 men and he’s running from place to place. “Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. Good, he exclaimed, we’ve got him now. God has handed him over to me for, he has trapped himself in a walled town.” Evidently Keilah was a walled town. Okay. “So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men. But David learned of Saul’s plan and told Abiathar, the priest, to bring the ephod and ask the Lord what he should do, then David prayed, Oh Lord God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him and will Saul actually come as I have heard? Oh Lord, God of Israel, please tell me. And the Lord said, he will come. Again David asked, will the leaders of Keilah betray me and my men to Saul? And the Lord replied, yes, they will betray you.”

Nicole (10:52):

Wow.

Sharon (10:52):

So he got his answer. And he was concerned for the people of Keilah. (Nicole: Yeah) Which is really nice. So David and his men, about 600 of them now, (Nicole: He got 200 more I guess) (Sharon: Good grief) left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped so he didn’t go to Keilah after all.” (So those people were safe. That’s good.) “David now stayed in the strong holds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day but God didn’t let Saul find him. One day near Horesh David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph, to search for him and kill him. Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. Don’t be afraid, Jonathan reassured him. My father will never find you. You are going to be the king of Israel and I will be next to you as my father, Saul, is well aware. So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the Lord.” (Sharon: There’s our loyal guys again) “Then Jonathan returned home while David stayed at Horesh.” I love this little peek.

Nicole (11:58):

I know.

Sharon (11:59):

Isn’t it so neat? Jonathan is smarter than his father. He finds David, right? (Nicole: Yeah) And he’s like, he’s not gonna find you here. Don’t worry about it. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing and Jonathan’s like, and my dad knows when you’re king, I’m gonna be standing right beside you supporting you.

Nicole (12:15):

So he knew all along he was following David to the end. <laugh>

Sharon (12:19):

Just like that. Unbelievable.

Nicole (12:20):

That’s crazy.

Sharon (12:21):

So, so beautiful.

Nicole (12:21):

Oh, I know. Jonathan’s so sweet. And I love that he sought him out to encourage him and to remind him, to keep trusting God. That he wasn’t like, you’ve got this David, you can take him. He’s like, God’s got you. God’s gonna hide you.

Sharon (12:35):

He did. He pointed to the Lord.

Nicole (12:36):

Yes. He didn’t instill David with any false sense of confidence on his own strength. (Sharon: Mm-hmm) but he reminded him of, of kind of who was on his side, you know? And I love that they, you know, renewed their solemn pact before the Lord. I, I have some pretty great friends. We’ve never made a solemn pact before the Lord, before. I can’t wait to get to heaven and ask them about like, what were they solemnly pacting about before the Lord? Like what were they saying?

Sharon (12:57):

Right.

Nicole (12:58):

Like a best friend secret handshake kind of thing.

Sharon (13:00):

Something like that. I know. Do they have like —? I don’t know what they did, but I think it was partially because it was so unusual. It’s like, Jonathan wants to say again, I promise you again to my own death, I will defend you and stand beside you.

Nicole (13:13):

I bet you’re right. Cause they should have been enemies.

Sharon (13:15):

They should have been enemies.

Nicole (13:16):

And they kept reassuring anyway.

Sharon (13:17):

That reassurance. Nope. Nope. I am on your side to the end.

Nicole (13:21):

That’s so sweet.

Sharon (13:21):

Oh, love it. Love it. Love it. You know, it kind of reminds me a little bit of John, the Baptist. John, the Baptist was Jesus’s cousin. (Nicole: Yeah) But he never took center stage. You know, he always was pointing to Jesus and he had a lot of charisma himself. (Nicole: Yeah) People came out to the wilderness to hear John, the Baptist preach. He baptized people and all this stuff. But as soon as Jesus started his public ministry, John, the Baptist is like, I’m not worthy to tie the sandals that are on his feet. (Nicole: Yeah) That’s the Lamb of God. Go follow him.

Nicole (13:53):

Oh, that’s so true.

Sharon (13:54):

And what’s the other line? ‘He must become greater and greater. I must become less and less.’.

Nicole (13:59):

Yes.

Sharon (14:00):

That’s a John the Baptist line and that’s a Jonathan.

Nicole (14:03):

Yeah.

Sharon (14:03):

He will be greater. I will be less.

Nicole (14:06):

And doesn’t it almost require more strength and trust in God to diminish yourself and to trust that God will, if needed, bring you up when it’s your turn. (Sharon: Yes) But Jonathan trusted God. And so did John, the Baptist. (Sharon: Yeah) That, oh my role is this: the assistant, the helper, the second, you know?

Sharon (14:23):

Yes.

Nicole (14:23):

I’ll be so less than.

Sharon (14:24):

Right. Right. It’s just so beautiful. It really is. I love, I love these.

Nicole (14:30):

All right. So now we get to the part where David shows his ability to still honor God in hard times. Sharon, I love this part. I love a lot of these parts.

Sharon (14:38):

Such a fun story.

Nicole (14:40):

It’s such a great story. So I’m gonna be reading from 1 Samuel 24:1-11. “So after Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of Engedi. So Saul chose 3000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats.” (Just imagine goats jumping all around.) “At the place where the road passes some sheep folds Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding further back in that very cave. Now is your opportunity, David’s men whispered to him. Today the Lord is telling you, I will certainly put your enemy into your power to do with as you wish. So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.”

Sharon (15:24):

Wow.

Nicole (15:25):

“But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. He said to his men, the Lord forbid that I should do this to my Lord the king, I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one for the Lord himself has chosen him. So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.”

Sharon (15:41):

Oh David.

Nicole (15:42):

That’s pretty amazing. (Sharon: Yeah) After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, David came out and shouted after him, My Lord, the king. And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him. Then he shouted to Saul, why did you listen to the people who say I’m trying to harm you? This very day you see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, I will never harm the king. He is the Lord’s anointed one. Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe. I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I’m not trying to harm you. And I have not sinned against you even though you’ve been hunting for me to kill me.”

Sharon (16:27):

Oh David. Wow. I mean, don’t you wanna hurry things along. He’s not hurrying anything along, is he? No, you’re still his anointed. God will remove you, not me. I’m not gonna remove you. He even felt guilty about cutting a little piece of Saul’s robe.

Nicole (16:44):

I know. That’s incredible.

Nicole (16:46):

What a story. I just. That must have taken so much self-control and it really showed again, that David’s heart really was tuned into God. (Sharon: Yeah) Especially with all his men around him. And they were, no, go ahead quick. This is it. The Lord is putting Saul into your hands.

Sharon (16:59):

Uh-huh. Yeah.

Nicole (16:59):

It’s sometimes so much easier to listen to the voices around you than to listen to God. Cause they’re there and they’re yelling at you and hey quick, you’re gonna miss an opportunity. It’s like Oh, maybe they’re right.

Sharon (17:09):

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Nicole (17:11):

No. You’ve got to hold true to what God says. And even in those dark times, when it’s easier to just kill him and be over with it.

Sharon (17:17):

Right. Right. And David’s like, nope, nope. His conscience was so tender he felt guilty he cut a little corner of a robe.

Nicole (17:23):

I love that. He chases after, but he’s still trying to like, hey, I’m not like… Please Saul. He’s still trying to make amends too.

Sharon (17:30):

He is.

Nicole (17:30):

Do you see his heart in that?

Sharon (17:31):

I love that.

Nicole (17:31):

Where he’s trying to show him?

Sharon (17:32):

My goodness Nicole.

Nicole (17:33):

He calls him ‘my father’. I mean, he’s so respectful and tender towards Saul.

Sharon (17:37):

Yeah. No bitterness.

Nicole (17:38):

No.

Sharon (17:38):

Just please like me again.

Nicole (17:40):

Right. Please stop trying to kill me.

Sharon (17:43):

Right, right. Yeah. It’s wow. Wow.

Nicole (17:46):

It’s just amazing.

Sharon (17:46):

It is amazing. I love this. Well, just like there were two incidents of spear throwing back in the palace when David first saw Saul basically lose his mind and rage at him.

Nicole (17:56):

Oh my word.

Sharon (17:56):

There’s actually another incident when David could have killed Saul. I won’t read it, but it’s in 1 Samuel 26. David literally tiptoes into Saul’s camp and sleeping area and takes off with Saul’s spear and water jug.

Nicole (18:10):

Oh my goodness. Don’t mess with him.

Sharon (18:13):

He then shouts again and tells Saul again that he could have killed Saul, but he’s not going to, he didn’t do it. (Nicole: Yeah) In both cases Saul, temporarily repents cause we’ve seen Saul’s mood swings. (Nicole: Yeah) And says he’s sorry for chasing David. Oh my goodness. He’s sorry. But then he goes after David again.

Nicole (18:30):

Right.

Sharon (18:30):

Because he’s Saul. It’s an unsettling time of hide and seek for sure.

Nicole (18:34):

I know.

Sharon (18:35):

So he stole the water jug of Saul. I’m like, is it like water bottles today? Was it distinctive? Was it like the king’s water jug? It must have been, right? If they were all the same, how would David say, look, I stole your water jug.

Nicole (18:47):

Right. (Sharon: Right) It must be unique. Maybe he had a gold cap cause he’s king. Or maybe he had a K on it. Or something. Cause we do even nowadays like, oh that’s your water bottle? Cause it’s pink or blue or whatever.

Sharon (18:56):

Right, right. Right.

Nicole (18:57):

My kids like to put all these waterproof stickers on their water bottles.

Sharon (19:00):

To say this one’s mine, the one with all the butterflies or whatever.

Nicole (19:03):

Right. To make it, so, you know, must have been somehow distinctive.

Sharon (19:06):

So funny. So funny. Well I love that David maintained integrity. In this hard time. (Nicole: Yeah) And twice said I could have killed you and I didn’t. Can’t you see, I’m not trying to hurt you.

Nicole (19:16):

It should have proved to him that he’s not after him.

Sharon (19:18):

Yeah. It’s really not easy to keep trusting God when you see nothing good happening.

Nicole (19:21):

Yeah.

Sharon (19:22):

And this is what’s going on with David. He was just a kid when Samuel anointed him and now it’s many years later, he’s on the run and most definitely not the anointed king, right? (Nicole: Yeah) Yet in all this, David stayed close. He abided with God. He knew how to live with God, even when life was hard. And I love that about him. So now we are going to go to one of my very favorite Psalms of David, Psalm 57. It was written during the hiding abiding cave years.

Nicole (19:52):

That’s so cool.

Sharon (19:52):

And we’re gonna learn a lot about an abiding heart as we read. It’s also a Selah Psalm, which might be one of the reasons I love it. Cause I love that word. So we’re gonna read a section at a time. And when we get to the Selah, the pause, we’ll pause and talk about it for a minute. So Nicole, why don’t you start us off with verses 1-3a and then tell us what you learn about abiding in God, living with him from these verses.

Nicole (20:15):

Yeah. I’m even gonna read the intro cause this is so cool. So it’s Psalm 57, For the choir director, a Psalm of David regarding the time he fled from Saul and went into the cave. It’s very specific.

Sharon (20:26):

It is.

Nicole (20:26):

To be sung to the tune of ‘Do not destroy’. I don’t think I know that one.

Sharon (20:30):

I don’t know that song.

Nicole (20:33):

So here we go. “Have mercy on me, Oh God. Have mercy. I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me, he will send help from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me. Selah” So, you can just feel David’s desperation for God here in his longing to feel safe. Can’t you?

Sharon (21:01):

Yes. Have mercy, Lord. Help me.

Nicole (21:03):

I mean that’s just from the heart.

Sharon (21:06):

Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole (21:07):

And I love that. He finds it so quickly. He says he’ll hide under his wings and how he acknowledges that God is fighting for him by helping him to fulfill his purpose. And I also love how he remembers and says that God will send help from heaven to rescue him. So David truly and completely trusted in God and was hopeful and looking for his God to rescue him from every circumstance that was oppressing him.

Sharon (21:29):

Isn’t that wonderful. (Nicole: Yes) He took every thought captive and brought it to God, didn’t he?

Nicole (21:33):

Yes. He cried out in help. He found his comfort and then he held on fast to it.

Sharon (21:37):

Yes he did. Yeah. And these are sung. So he made up a song so he could keep singing it.

Nicole (21:41):

Singing in the cave. Great acoustics.

Sharon (21:44):

I love it. I know it. And it probably really, really helped him when he was scared (Nicole: Oh yeah) to just sing that song, right? (Nicole: Yeah) Oh my goodness. Well the next part, the next section is verses 3b-6. And I will read these. “My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness. I am surrounded by fierce lions who greedily devour human prey, whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows and whose tongues cut like swords. Be exalted, Oh God above the highest heavens, may your glory shine over all the earth. My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it. Selah.” Well, David speaks in this section of two distinct truths. First he speaks of who God truly is. God will send forth unfailing love and faithfulness. That’s who God is. He loves unfailingly. His love doesn’t wither up. His love is not like Saul’s, right? Saul’s like, oh I won’t kill you, ever. Oh, let me spear you to the wall. Right?

Nicole (22:51):

Right.

Sharon (22:52):

God is, has unfailing love and faithfulness, no matter what’s happening. David’s confidence is in the character of God in whom he is abiding. He knows God is there for him. He even exalts God in verse five, “May your glory shine over all the earth.” He’s just in awe of God. And he’s confident that the pit they dug for him will be their own destruction. God’s gonna win in the end. So he’s speaking the truth of God as Protector as well. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) God loves. God’s faithful. God’s protector. But the second truth we learn from this is also valid. He doesn’t mince words about the hardness of where he is.

Nicole (23:27):

That’s true.

Sharon (23:28):

Right? He calls it like being with lions. He feels pierced and cut. The words are cutting him. The fact that people are saying things about him, that aren’t true. (Nicole: Yeah) He’s weary from all the distress. I love this Nicole. David brings all of life to God because he’s abiding with God. He’s living right next to him. So every thought is shared with God because he’s that close.

Nicole (23:51):

Yes.

Sharon (23:51):

Right? He might be hiding from Saul, but he’s abiding with God.

Nicole (23:55):

And he can still find, well, he brings his hurt, his big feelings to God. And then he praises him. (Sharon: Yeah) So quickly he turned, he doesn’t stay there and wallow and woe is me. As soon as he says, like, here’s what I’m feeling. I’m honest with you. And then he’s like, oh, but you are amazing God.

Sharon (24:11):

You’re still amazing. Right.

Nicole (24:12):

So he takes his eyes off of himself and that’s key. Cause if we keep looking at our sorrows, we’ll drown in them. I mean, you could, he could have panic attacks all day long.

Sharon (24:19):

All day long. Whirlpool.

Nicole (24:20):

Waiting for Saul to kill him. This powerful king. (Sharon: Yeah. Yeah) That’s so beautiful. I love that he praised him.

Sharon (24:25):

l love it too.

Nicole (24:26):

Oh, it’s so good. All right. I’m gonna read the final section, verses 7-11. “My heart is confident in you, Oh God. My heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises. Wake up my heart, wake up Oh lyre and harp. I will wake up the dawn with my song. I will thank you Lord among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations for your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, Oh God, Above the highest heavens, may your glory shine over all the earth.”

Sharon (24:57):

Beautiful.

Nicole (24:58):

Oh, Sharon.

Sharon (24:58):

I wanna hear him sing it.

Nicole (24:59):

I know.

Sharon (25:01):

Really

Nicole (25:01):

Definitely in heaven we will ask him to sing that one.

Sharon (25:03):

Yes. Yes.

Nicole (25:03):

Sing the cave song to us.

Sharon (25:05):

Yes.

Nicole (25:06):

Don’t you just, can’t you just see though, in this section, how much happier David is after talking with the Lord?

Sharon (25:12):

Yes.

Nicole (25:12):

Isn’t that beautiful?

Sharon (25:13):

Yes. Mm-hmm.

Nicole (25:13):

The words he wrote here just come from a heart filled with peace and joy. Cause who can, who can sing that about singing praises and waking up the dawn when you’re hiding in a cave fearing for your life.

Sharon (25:23):

No kidding. It’s amazing.

Nicole (25:24):

Only God. (Sharon: Yeah) It’s the only way we can ever feel this type of joy in the midst of some really scary and trustful circumstances and it’s to come to God for help and let God remind us that greater is he who is in us than he that is in the world.

Sharon (25:37):

In the world. Yeah. And I love that it’s at dawn. David starts the day with God.

Nicole (25:42):

Oh he does.

Sharon (25:43):

You know, do you think every morning in the cave he woke up and sang the song?

Nicole (25:47):

Yeah. He kind of crept out to the mouth while they were sleeping and just kinda had a moment.

Sharon (25:50):

Watched the sunrise.

Nicole (25:52):

Yeah. That must have kept him going.

Sharon (25:53):

Yeah. I mean, as a little shepherd boy, he chose to spend time with God when no one was watching in a field back at the beginning of this series.

Nicole (26:00):

So those were habits and rhythms in his life he’s had since he was a boy.

Sharon (26:03):

He’s had the rhythms forever. (Nicole: Yeah) That keeping a quiet heart. We talked about that in the first one.

Nicole (26:07):

Yes.

Sharon (26:08):

David knew how to keep a quiet heart. And so when he was in a very different circumstance, six hundred hairy, smelly men in a cave with him, some of them discontents, right?

Nicole (26:15):

Yeah.

Sharon (26:16):

Oh my goodness. And now he’s responsible to feed them and take care of them and protect them.

Nicole (26:24):

Lead this group. Right.

Sharon (26:25):

He’s still sneaking away at dawn, not trying to get a extra few winks.

Nicole (26:29):

Right.

Sharon (26:30):

And keeping a quiet heart.

Nicole (26:32):

That’s so great. So he’s carrying those rhythms with him into the hard times. And that’s what clearly is getting him through.

Sharon (26:38):

Exactly so.

Nicole (26:38):

As he’s singing his heart out to God as Saul’s about to kill him.

Sharon (26:40):

Yeah, yeah. Oh, I’m so glad that that Psalm was labeled, this was sung when David was in a cave hiding from Saul.

Nicole (26:49):

Would you not believe it? Sometimes you’re going, no, this couldn’t have been when he was about to be killed.

Sharon (26:53):

No. No, but it was.

Nicole (26:54):

That’s pretty great.

Sharon (26:54):

And that’s how he could do things like cut off hems and then feel guilty even about that because he was that close to God.

Nicole (27:01):

Cause he was abiding with him.

Sharon (27:02):

He was abiding. I wanna abide. That’s my word this year. And I want so much to always know God’s nearness. (Nicole: Yes) You know, and I wanna welcome him close. I don’t wanna run away and do something I don’t think he’d like, and then come back you know? I just wanna always, always be yoked. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) So, I’m not there, but I wanna be there. I really do.

Nicole (27:24):

Oh, I’m with you.

Sharon (27:25):

Well, let us pray to finish this out. Father, we do. We wanna abide with you. Thank you Father, for this beautiful Psalm where David could tell you how he felt, cut and pierced with words, frightened in a cave, bewildered, not knowing what you were doing in his life. Thank you Lord that we can pour out our hearts to you who are so near. We can tell you every rotten thought, which you see anyways. And thank you God that you remain the faithful, loving God you have always been and will always be. The protector of our souls. The lover of our hearts, the merciful, kind abiding God. We praise you. We lift your name high. Keep us near Lord, please. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nicole (28:27):

Amen. Sharon, what a story. If you are in a messy, dark cave like place today, listeners, please remember our twin truths. You can absolutely speak to God about your despair and worry and concern. And you can also at the same time, praise him and honor him as the God who is there, abiding with you, even in the dark. Wow. Well, next week we’re gonna look at The Persevering Heart in episode 87. Sometimes those caves last a whole lot longer than we want them to. God will show us through David’s story how to persevere. I can’t wait to study this one out. In the meantime, write us, let us know you’re listening. Write a review so more people can find our podcast, consider donating and becoming a podcast partner. You can donate at SweetSelah.org/donations, and you can find us at SweetSelah.org/podcast. We’d love to add you to our monthly newsletter. Thanks for listening.

Speaker 1 (29:28):

We are so glad you stopped for a while with us. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries.. More information about this podcast can be found @SweetSelah.org. Thank you for joining us.