“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;” Psalm 34:19 (NIV)
Sometimes we need deliverance from situations we did not cause or do not deserve. But other times, we get ourselves into difficulty through our own rebellion and pride. David, the author of Psalm 34 did just that in 1 Samuel 21 when he was on the run from Saul. Saul was on the hunt to kill David because David was being praised by the people for his military prowess and power. Saul, who was the current king at the time, was not happy about the favor David, the anointed future king, was receiving from the people. This forced David to run, and he ran to the Philistine town of Nob to Ahimelech the priest. When David got to Nob, instead of being certain of God’s provision and delivery, he took things into his own hands and lied about the purpose of his visit. Instead of being honest about his plight, he tried to protect himself with a lie. David tried to deliver himself from danger instead of relying on God to deliver him. (1 Samuel 21:2). Saul had not sent David on a mission and David didn’t have definite plans to meet his men at a certain place. When even his lie didn’t deliver him, David continued on to Gath, where he once again tried to deliver himself from the Philistines who were threatened by his actions as he pretended to be insane. David wanted deliverance, but he tried to bring about his deliverance by himself instead of through his reliance on God.
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