Fear Of God // Stand In AweSample

David & the Fear of God

"Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands”. That was the song sang by the Israelites when David and his army returned from a mission against the Philistines. Picture the look on Saul’s face, after hearing his own people give another man higher praise than him, the king! It was from that moment on that Saul held a grudge against David, which led to him plotting to end his life. 

That’s the context of today’s Scripture, in which we find David hiding in a cave out of fear for his life. David had no choice but to run as far away as he could to flee from Saul, even though he knew that he had done nothing wrong!

We read today that David has the opportunity to take revenge on Saul; to take Saul’s life in order to save his own. But David displays a fear of God, by demonstrating he has more reverence for God than he does for his own agenda of getting revenge.

Imagine having to leave your friends and family behind because of a crime you’ve been falsely accused of: how tempting would it be to start thinking of ways to get revenge against Saul? However, David didn’t give into this mentality. He decided to leave the revenge to God.

David was aware that the same God who protected him from the wrath of lions and bears when he was a shepherd was the same God who would take care of his relational issues with Saul. He walked with a fear of God that surpassed all the circumstances of life that were being thrown at him. 

But in today’s age, how can we show the fear of God like David did when we get hurt by others? The simple answer is forgiveness. Often the people who wrong us won’t be apologetic and arguably don’t deserve to be forgiven, but that puts them in the same position as us: we too aren’t deserving of forgiveness, but God in his great mercy sacrificed his son so that we could be forgiven.

We can forgive others when we realise how much God has forgiven us; it may not be easy but it’s far better than holding onto unforgiveness and bitterness. Today, begin your day by forgiving those who you hold grudges against, and see the difference it makes in your life!