Daily EncouragementSample

“The best thing I can do” may not be the best thing at all from God’s viewpoint. Our logic may seem eminently reasonable when we leave God out, as does David here. How different the argument would be if he began with the Lord: “Ultimately I have no need for fear, Saul. God will bring me to the kingdom in his time.” In the tense emotional moment as he stood by the sleeping Saul, David remembered the Lord and stayed Abishai’s hand; now, in the loneliness of his own thoughts, he forgets him. Inconsistent, no doubt, but nevertheless true to life.

“The best thing I can do” is not the best when it leads to deceit and double-dealing, as is the case with David and the Philistine king. Achish trusts David, while David keeps his real activities hidden from his eyes.

“The best thing I can do” is not the best when it involves being “yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14) and with pagans who despise the people of God: “The commanders of the Philistines asked, ‘What about these Hebrews?’” (1 Sam. 29:3).