Psalm 23 was written by a man who lost everything
How do you react when faith is tested?
This is the third in a series of articles about the life of King David. It forms part of a companion to my book:
Defeating Goliath, becoming a national hero and then son-in-law to the king, must have been a high point in David’s life, but within a few years, he had lost everything. The most powerful man in the land, king Saul was now trying to kill him out of jealously. David was on his own, on the run and his spectacular fall finished up in a cave; the cave of Adullam. He literally reaches rock bottom inside a rock.
You get the impression his fall was chaotic, frantic and panicked. On his way to the bottom David made some mistakes. In fact, from the outside, it can be hard to understand what he was thinking. For example, on his way to the cave, David first tried to take refuge in Gath, Goliath’s home town. I don’t think he was going to win any popularity contests there! When he realises this might not have been such a good idea, he pretends to be insane to escape. David wasn’t thinking straight, and that can happen to any of us when we become overwhelmed with anxiety and stress.
Psalm 23 was written by a man who knew what it was to lose everything, and be overwhelmed with anxiety and stress.
We can get an insight into how David felt through Psalm 142, which he wrote whilst in a cave. Can you hear his distress?
I cry aloud to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.
When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
I cry to you, Lord;
I say, ‘You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.’ (Psalm 142:1–5 NIV)
Have you ever cried aloud to the Lord? Have you ever poured out your complaint to him? Depending on our temperament and upbringing, we can find that hard to do; I know I do. But I have learned that God desires us to be honest with him, and David knew this too:
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being (Psalm 51:6 ESV)
Your Heavenly Father wants you to pour out your troubles to him, not because he doesn’t know about them, but because he cares for you:
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)
When we verbalise our troubles to God, we can admit them to ourselves and really own them. The risk is that if we don’t do this, then we suppress our feelings. How can we live life to the full, if we don’t face the truth? Faith is not built by pretending things are better than they are. Faith is built by facing truth full on, whilst simultaneously trusting in the love of God and word of God. Such was the faith of Abraham:
Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead — since he was about a hundred years old — and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:19–21 NIV)
I love the way David, in this Psalm, having poured out his troubles to God then expresses his trust in him, “I cry to you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’” David is saying to God, “Even though my life is falling apart around me, I know I can trust in you, that you will never leave me, and that actually, when the chips are down, you are all I need”. Have you ever said that to God? Such a declaration is the heart of worship and finds wonderful expression in Psalm 23:
Psalm 23 was written by a man who poured out his complaints to God, while declaring his complete trust in him.
Read “The Psalm 23 Life” to make King David’s experience of God’s love your experience too…
You can access the other parts in this series on the life of King David below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Part 5
