"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" III

Your nearing the midpoint of your week of readings from I Samuel and the Psalms, as well as praying by the ACTS method, one dimension each day. Have you taken some quiet time that is not rushed or squeezed in among lots of other things? Our discussion of meditation on Wednesday encouraged each of us to create personal time and space just to be quietly in the presence of God to listen. How has that gone for you?

I Samuel 21:1-22:23; Psalm 56-57

Note that I have expanded the reading in I Samuel to include the entirety of I Samuel 22. The deterioration and desperation of Saul continues. The slaughter of Ahimelech and the priests of Nob in chapter 22 represents the height of Saul's paranoia and the lowness of his behavior. Two interesting things are found in this story right at the beginning in chapter 21. First, David lies about why he is coming to see Ahimelech, saying that he is on a mission rather than admitting that he is running for his life from King Saul. Second, he asks the priest for bread for him and his men and the only bread available is the liturgical bread for worship, called "the bread of the Presence" (See Leviticus 24:5-9 for how it was made), which could only be eaten by the priests. The comment about David and his men not having been with women was a statement that they were ceremonially clean. The priest gives it to David. In Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus is criticized for picking grain on the Sabbath (a violation of Pharasaic law), and he cites David's eating of the liturgical bread as evidence that sometimes the need outweighs the letter of the law.

Like the soap opera scene where a wicked word is always overheard and the wicked act is always seen from around the corner, verse 7 of chapter 21 lets us know that Saul has a mole in the scene, who will later turn David and the priests of Nob in. In verse 9, David talks Ahimelech out of the sword of Goliath so that he will be able to defend himself. Why is Ahimelech so accommodating? Remember that David is known among the people as a man of great power and, at least on the surface, is a confidant of King Saul.

The deceptions continue as David feigns insanity so that the king of Gath will not kill him (a reminder of the deception by Abraham where he saves his hide by claiming Sarah was his sister). Achish the king falls for the deception. David continues on the run and hides in a cave, where Psalm 56 is written. While understandable, we see here, once again, the prominence of deception among the Old Testament biblical characters. At the same time, in the following chapters, David remains fiercely loyal to the king, saving the king's life on two occasions.

Psalms 56 & 57

The pattern here is common for David - a plea for help in desparate times in which grave concern and distress will alternate with statements of faith (also seen in Psalm 42 and 43). Notice how verse 4 and verses 10 and 11 are a repeat of each other, just like the chorus of a hymn (which it is). David is obviously scared to death, yet calling on faith with all that he has. What a wonderful pattern for us for desperate times. Psalm 57 continues the theme in the previous chapter, but finishes with an exultant hymn of praise (which I put to music for the choir and orchestra for the Grand Opening of the southwest campus).

I wanted to finish today's blog by mentioning our theme of thanksgiving. One of the great gifts we can give each other is to encourage "the attitude of gratitude." Our natural selfishness tends to emphasize what we do not yet have and where things haven't worked out yet. We become stressed and disappointed (leading to brooding - what I call "negative meditation"). That may also explain why we tend to spend most of our prayer time in supplication (praying for our needs). Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:16-18,

"Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

Feeding the attitude of gratitude provides a positive energy that changes the whole flow of your day, allows you to see resources you wouldn't see otherwise, and opens you up to the presence of God. So what are you thankful for today? You may want to send a comment in answer to that question. See you tomorrow.