Desolation - Part 2

Welcome to The Well Community Church. I am so glad you’re hanging out with us here today. Welcome, of course, to those here in our auditorium, those outside in our theater, and those joining us in our family venue or at our Fig Garden campus. I am just grateful that technology allows us to have one common message shared across all our campuses and gatherings, so that when we get together for life groups, we’re all talking about the same thing.

My name is Brad, if we have not met yet. I’ve had the privilege of hanging around this place for almost twenty-five years. I am so grateful to open our Bibles together. If you don’t have a Bible, you might want to Google these passages today because we are going to jump around a bit, and having the text in front of you will make this a more enjoyable experience. We do have some Bibles available out in our welcome center, but you have to be under thirty to be able to read them because the font is so small. If you want to give that a shot, you’re welcome to, but we really do want to explore the Bible together to learn about God and how life is meant to be lived in keeping with His design.

Seasons of the Soul

We are in the middle of a series called Monarchy, where we’re tracing the life journeys of Kings Saul, David, and Solomon. With David specifically, we’ve been watching him go on a significant journey. We’ve put some language to this by talking about “seasons of the soul.” Our spiritual lives—our relationship with God—tend to ebb and flow with ups and downs.

When things are going up, we call that “consolation.” These are seasons of joy, newness, excitement, and the perceived presence of God. But life isn’t always like that. Sometimes we hit a summit and then spend a season on the downward slope—seasons of “desolation.” This is where we experience a sense of staleness. The Bible doesn’t just feel like it’s not life-giving; it feels like a burden or a duty. We experience a perceived absence of God.

If your life group is anything like mine, the discussions around consolation and desolation have been fascinating. Based on the emails coming in, it feels like we’ve touched a nerve. We are putting language to the messy process of life with God that we are all experiencing. Many of us have been sold a false gospel that life with God should always feel good. We think if there isn’t consolation, something is wrong—either with us (which leads to moralism) or with God (which leads us to quit).

But the reality is that if we based our relationships on the constant presence of consolation, there wouldn’t be a single married person in this room. Even marriage has ups and downs. David is learning this now.

1 Samuel 19:11 (NASB)

Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, ‘If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.’

The Stripping Away

David has been on quite a run. In chapter 16, he was anointed king. In chapter 17, he defeated Goliath. In chapter 18, he was invited into the palace. But in chapter 19, things change very quickly. What went up has come down. Last week, we talked about the five major things stripped out of David’s life during his time of desolation.

First, he lost his position. He went from the palace to being persona non grata. Second, he lost his wife; she had to let him out of a window to escape assassins, and she was eventually given to another man. Third, he lost his spiritual advisor, Samuel. Fourth, he lost his best friend, Jonathan. Finally, he lost his control, safety, and security. He would spend the next fifteen years being hunted like a dog.

In this desolation, David had to learn a critical lesson: to seek the God of consolation and not just the consolation of God. Can we still love God if the feelings are removed? That is what David is learning.

I’ve often wondered what the people in these stories were thinking. What was Adam thinking while hiding from an omniscient God? What was Ruth thinking when she followed Naomi? What was Paul thinking during those three days of blindness? Usually, we have to speculate. But in 1 Samuel 19 through 21, we don’t have to guess. There are six Psalms that act like journal pages, explaining exactly what David was thinking and feeling during these events. It is what our friend Jack Shiflett calls “divine eavesdropping.”

Psalm 59: Deliver me from my Enemies

The first event occurs when David is snuck out of his home by his wife because assassins are at the door. While he is running for his life, he writes Psalm 59. The superscription tells us it was set to a song called Al Tashath, which means “Do not destroy.” It sounds like a Metallica song to me, but that was the melody David chose for this moment.

Psalms 59:1-5 (NASB)

For the choir director; [set to] Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent [men] and they watched the house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me [securely] on high away from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, For no guilt of [mine], they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any [who are] treacherous in iniquity. Selah.

David is crying out because fierce men are launching an attack against him for no fault of his own. He is in distress, yet notice how he ends the Psalm.

Psalms 59:16-17 (NASB)

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

Even when the circumstances haven’t changed, David looks to God. If you have ever been in a crisis where you didn’t know how to pray, Psalm 59 is for you. It reminds us we aren’t the only ones who have felt disoriented.

Psalm 52: The Worker of Deceit

The second story involves David visiting the priests at Nob. David is panicked. He leaves the priest’s house with the sword of Goliath in his backpack. He then makes the questionable decision to go to Gath—Goliath’s hometown. While at Nob, he is spotted by a man named Doeg the Edomite, a scoundrel David knows will sell him out. This betrayal prompts Psalm 52.

1 Samuel 21:7 (NASB)

Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Psalms 52:1-9 (NASB)

For the choir director. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’ Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God [endures] all day long. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever; He will snatch you up and tear you away from [your] tent, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah. The righteous will see and fear, And will laugh at him, [saying], ‘Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches [And] was strong in his [evil] desire.’ But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. I will give You thanks forever, because You have done [it], And I will wait on Your name, for [it is] good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

Have you ever been hurt by someone you trusted? Someone close to you who did something that wounded you? If you’ve been let down by those who should have been for you, you might need Psalm 52 to remind you that the Lord is your refuge.

Psalm 34: Taste and See

Next, David flees to Gath. He’s standing at the front door of the Philistine city with Goliath’s sword. To save his life, he fakes insanity. He is so twisted up and strung out that he is acting completely out of character. In that moment of desperation, he writes Psalm 34.

1 Samuel 21:10 (NASB)

Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath.

Psalms 34:1-4 (NASB)

[A Psalm] of David when he feigned 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. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

David is magnifying the Lord even while feigning madness. He continues with one of the most famous invitations in scripture.

Psalms 34:8-11 (NASB)

O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Psalms 34:15-18 (NASB)

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are [open] to their cry. The face of the LORD is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth. [The righteous] cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

If you are one crisis away from losing your mind, Psalm 34 is a mirror for your soul. It was written for the person who feels crushed in spirit.

Psalm 142: The Cave of Adullam

Finally, David escapes to the Cave of Adullam. This region is full of limestone caves. When we do biblical study tours, we actually climb into these caves and read the Psalms David wrote there. He is hiding like a rodent, and he feels completely alone.

1 Samuel 22:1 (NASB)

So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard [of it], they went down there to him.

Psalms 142:1-7 (NASB)

Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. In the way where I walk They have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me; There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul. I cried out to You, O LORD; I said, ’You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. ’Give heed to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too strong for me. ‘Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me.’

David is honest with God. He pours out his complaint. We often try to sanitize our prayers, but God already knows our hearts. There is something beautiful about being candid with Him. David feels like no one cares for his soul, yet he declares that God is his portion. When you hit bottom and feel abandoned by everyone who should have given you safety, Psalm 142 is where you turn.

A Tale of Two Kings

The rest of chapter 22 shows us a “tale of two kings.” David, even in desolation, is running to God, not from Him. There is no bitterness. Because of this, people are drawn to him.

1 Samuel 22:2 (NASB)

Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.

David assembles an army of misfits—the distressed, the indebted, and the discontented. They see something in his character. They see a leader who submits to God.

Saul, on the other hand, is driven by the flesh. He descends into paranoia, accusing everyone of conspiracy. When he hears from Doeg the Edomite that the priests helped David, Saul orders a massacre. Eighty-five priests are killed. When Saul’s own men refuse to strike the priests, Doeg the Edomite steps up and slaughters them, along with the entire city of Nob—men, women, children, and livestock. Saul has entered a very dark place. You never see him pray; you never see him quote scripture. He is a man of the flesh.

Hope for the Journey

What does this mean for us? If you are in a season of consolation, don’t get cocky. Be thankful. Don’t take credit for what God is doing. And don’t get too comfortable, because desolation may be around the corner. Turn to Psalms 1, 19, or 33 to express your gratitude.

But if you are in desolation, turn to the Psalms to find the tear-stained pages of those who went before you. My Bible almost opens automatically to Psalm 13 because I have turned to it so many times. “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” That is real life. David learned that even when God doesn’t relent from the desolation, he can still praise Him.

Paul tells us in Romans why these stories exist.

Romans 15:4 (NASB)

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

These things were written for our instruction so that we might have hope. If I didn’t care about you, I would pray that you never experience desolation. But because I do care, I pray that when God leads you into desolation to mature your faith, your tears would drop onto the pages of the Psalms. I pray you would learn to run to God, not from Him.

Father in heaven, we need You. Thank You that the things written in earlier times were written for our instruction. Would You be with us as we live out our faith in both the good and the bad times? If we find ourselves in need, may the Psalms minister to us. Encourage us to chase these cross-references and find the hope You have for us. We bless You for the gift of doing life with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.