When Life Comes Unraveled Lesson 6 Save the String
Then David fled … went to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?" 1 Sam 20:1
“The trials David met with, prepared him for future advancement. Thus the Lord deals with those whom he prepares unto glory. He does not put them into immediate possession of the kingdom, but leads them to it through much tribulation, which he makes the means of fitting them for it.” Matthew Henry Introduction
I. Job; And the Reason It’s There The book of Job is not sentimental. It is objective truth. It is exactly what I want when the pain is the greatest
A. The story (the abridged version) Job 1 – 2
1. What happened to this guy?
2. Who would do a thing like that?
B. A good man with bad theology (prevalent in his culture and ours)
23:1-7 ; 31:1-6 ; (not much different from a bad man with bad theology Luke 18:11-12)
C, God’s correction of his servant (all the gentleness of a wrecking ball)
38:1-7; 40:1-2; 6-8, 11
II. David; When all the Options are Omitted
A. His job 18:30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers, and his name became well known.
B. His wife 18:20-29; 19:11-17
C. His spiritual advisor 19:18-20:1
D. His best friend 20:1-42 42 Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
1 E. His self confidence 21:8-15 III. Telltale signs of decline
A. My problems have grown to where God is not big enough 1 Sam 20:3
“Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death."
B. I resort to my own devises because God is not to be trusted 1 Sam 21:2-3
David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.
Having lost his job, his wife, his counselor, and his best friend, lying to get by seems perfectly justified.
C. I react in ways that are completely irrational because God is not involved 1 Sam 21:12-13
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
IV. Telltale signs of recovery
A. When Job came around to the truth 42:1-6
B. When David remembered the truth Psalm 34
Ps 34:3-4 A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. NKJV
Psalm 56 For the director of music. To [the tune of] "A Dove on Distant Oaks." Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? NIV
2 1. When you’re tempted to say, “I don’t deserve this”; ask yourself why you didn’t make the same statement in the midst of blessings.
1 Cor 4:7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive ? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
2. When you’re tempted to say, “I can’t live without …..”; remind yourself that the only thing you really can’t live without is the source of life itself. Do it quickly, before God does.
"Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open." Cory Ten Boom, The Hiding Place
3. A person with a “Christian World View” is a person with two God filters. One for incoming information and one for outgoing responses.
"This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see." Cory Ten Boom, The Hiding Place
3 TNBS Questions Preparation for lesson 7
Think back on our study of 1 Samuel 18-21. (a quick review may be in order) David probably wrote Psalms 34, 56, and 57 sometime after 1 Samuel 22:1 “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam”. Please read these three Psalms with intent to discern the emotions, faith and convictions of the author.
Psalm 34 1. What is the firm resolution that David makes in verse 1? ______
2. What difficulties would you see in carrying it out? ______
3. What helps are available to us in its performance? ______
4. What are the benefits of doing so? ______
5. What are the four progressive stages given in verse 4? (they are not in order) How would you apply them to yourself? ______
6. Divide Psalm 34 into 2 parts. Part 1 – verse___ through____ The main theme of this section is ______Part 2 – verse___ through____ The main theme of this section is ______
Psalm 56 (1 Samuel 21:10-15) 1. What circumstances drove David to seek refuge in an enemy country? ______
2. What would have been David’s emotional state? ______
3. What are common methods we use to handle fear? ______
4. From the repeated chorus in verses 3-4 and 10-11, what two things gave David confidence? ______
5. In light of Romans 8:31-39, how would you answer the question posed in verses 4 and 11?
Psalm 57 1. A good title for verses 1-5 would be ______
2. A good title for verses 6-11 would be ______
3. What lessons do these Psalms teach us about dealing with life’s terrifying circumstances?
4 ______
5