The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! 1 Samuel 26:11

            It looked like a God-given opportunity-twice!

            David had years earlier been anointed king of Israel.  He knew it was God's plan and purpose.  But it was slow coming.  The reigning King Saul's raw jealousy and unstable mental state had driven him on an obsessive pursuit of David.  So the young warrior and his men lived a hard and frustrating life as fugitives in the rough landscape of the Judean wilderness waiting for God to fulfill his promise to and plan for David. 

            Then one day a perfect storm of circumstances gave Saul into David's hand.  (Read the gripping story in 1 Samuel 24.)  Just a few feet away, unknown to Saul, David could have raised his sword, taken the king's life, and put an end to the running.  His men assured him this was clearly a God-given chance to bring to reality what he knew was God's will.  Today is the day the Lord was talking about when he said, "I will certainly put Saul into your power, to do with as you wish." (1 Samuel 24:4)  It was all nice and neat, surely providentially packaged.  But David said no.

            Why would David turn away from an opportunity which seemed to be the work of God and would eliminate his enemy and all the turmoil with him?  It was because he knew the Word of God.  He knew the principles by which God wanted human life to be conducted.  And as much as it looked like the hand of God, he knew it wasn't.  It is a serious thing to attack the Lord's anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him, he declared. (24:6)  So, he refused to draw his sword and the running continued.

            Then it happened again.  Saul's life was supernaturally placed a second time at David's disposal. (Read the biblical account in 1 Samuel 26.)  It had to be God's will his trusted companion assured and offered to do the deed himself.  Again, David said no.  He did so in spite of the hardship to himself.  He did so in spite of the hardship to his men.  He did so in spite of the hardship to their families.  Everything circumstantially and personally screamed act, but David stood firm on God's word.

His stubborn commitment to divine principle caused David and others significant difficulty.  It seemed to delay the plan of God for both him and the nation.  It gave Israel's enemies opportunity against them.  But it was the right thing, the only thing to do.  It always is.

Obedience to God's Word will at times go against the circumstances, against the advice of good and godly friends, against the very interests of people we care about deeply.  But, like David, we must say no to the pressure and yes to God's Word.  The revealed truth of Scripture trumps our human perception of the perfect storm of circumstances in every case.

You see, God always works his will within the framework of biblical truth and principle.  Always.  We are called to obey no matter how counterproductive such obedience might seem, even to the purposes and plan of God for us and others.

As David resolutely remained faithful to God, God was faithful to David.  He became king of Israel in God's good and perfect time.  So, hold stubbornly to the revealed truth of the Bible.  Live by it no matter what the pressure or perception or price.  The will of God will find its joyous fulfillment in the end.  Yes, every time.