The Hand of God That Helped David

The Hand of God That Helped David

“David was greatly distressed, because the people spoke of stoning him; for all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” (1 Samuel 30:6)

By Pastor Park Ock Soo (Good News Gangnam Church)

In life, unexpected things happen. Sometimes we fall sick; sometimes we face financial hardship; sometimes we are falsely accused and misunderstood. The Bible also records many such stories. These stories teach us an important question: “When difficulties come, is God with you? Does God live in your heart? Do you believe in Him?”

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“God, please help me!”

In 1 Samuel 30, David and his men returned to Ziklag from the battlefield, only to find the city burned down and their wives and children taken captive. Everything was gone. They lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep. After a long time of crying, the hearts of David’s men suddenly changed.

“They say David will be king, so we followed him hoping to gain something. But now our wives and children are gone—what good is David being king? Following him has ruined us! Let’s stone him to death and go our separate ways!”

Their sorrow turned into anger, and they wanted to stone David. David was about to be killed by these desperate men, and there was no way to escape. In that urgent moment, he sought God, crying out:

“God, please help me!”

David inquired of the Lord:

“Shall we pursue the raiding party? Will we overtake them?”

And God answered:

“Pursue them, for you shall surely overtake them and will certainly rescue all.”

David then told the people:

“Let us chase after those who captured our families. God said we will overtake them and recover everything.”

So David and his men set out to pursue the attackers. But how could they possibly find them? They had no clues—not even the identity of those who raided Ziklag. Finding the enemy was humanly impossible. But David had God with him.

On the way, they found a young man collapsed on the ground. He had not eaten for three days. After giving him food and water and allowing him to regain strength, David asked:

“Who are you?”

“I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago because I fell sick. We burned Ziklag.”

“Will you lead me to this raiding party?”

“Swear to me that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will lead you to them.”

The young man led David to the Amalekites, who were spread out across the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great plunder they had taken from Philistine and Judean territory. David and his men struck them down severely and recovered their families and everything that had been taken.

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When we have no way out, whom do the saved seek?

Once our sins are forgiven and we are born again, we become one with God. But we do not rely on God from the very beginning. Therefore, God continually allows difficulties to come into our lives, saying to us: “Even now, will you not rely on Me?”
Difficulties are not a bad thing.

Normally, people do not seek God. But when they are exhausted and in pain, they can only cry out “God!”
When a saved person is pushed into a corner with no way out, whom will he seek?
He will seek God.

And when we look to God and pray for His help, God opens a way—this is truly something to be thankful for.

Even if everything seems to go smoothly in our lives, there will still be ups and downs. Sometimes we feel tired; sometimes we face hardship. But once our sins are washed through the blood of Jesus, God does not allow anything to happen meaninglessly.

At first, when trouble comes, we may not think much of it. But after the second and third time, we begin to realize:

“If I do not look to God in this matter, there is no way out. God must have allowed this difficulty so that I would turn to Him.”

Although hardships come, God helps us each time and opens a way to solve the problem. It is truly amazing.

For those who are not saved, great difficulties leave them hopeless.
But for the saved, difficulties lead them to seek God.

Though we sometimes face problems, God is with us and works in our lives. That is truly precious and something to be grateful for. 

帮助大卫的神之手

 

“大卫甚是焦急，因众人为自己的儿女苦恼，说：‘要用石头打死他。’大卫却倚靠耶和华他的神，心里坚固。”（撒上30：6）

作者：朴玉洙（好消息江南教会牧师）

 

生活中，有时会出现意想不到的事情。我们有时会患上疾病，有时会遇到经济上的困难，有时会蒙冤受屈。《圣经》里也记录了这样的内容。这些故事在教导我们：“困难时，有神在你身边吗？有神活在你心里吗？你相信神吗？”

 

神啊，请帮助我！

在《撒母耳记上》30章中，大卫和跟随他的人奔赴战场，回到居住的洗革拉时，发现城已被火焚烧，城内的妇女儿童都被掳走，一无所剩。他们放声痛哭，直哭得没有气力。跟随大卫的人哭了好一阵后，突然改变了态度。

“听说大卫会当王，本想跟着他捞点好处，可现在老婆孩子都没有了，大卫当王还有什么意义？我们跟着大卫都败亡了。现在，让我们用石头打死他，之后各走各的吧！”

悲伤变成了愤怒，人们要用石头打死大卫。大卫眼看就要死在这些粗暴的人手中，却又无路可逃。在这紧急关头，他寻求了神：“神啊，请帮助我！”大卫求问了神：

“神啊，我们去追赶掳掠洗革拉的人，追得上追不上呢？”

“你可以追，必追得上，都救得回来。”

大卫对人们说：

“我们去追赶掳走我们妻儿的人吧。神说，我们必追得上，都救得回来。”

大卫等人前去追赶焚烧洗革拉并把人掳走的那些人。可是他们如何能得知敌人的去向呢？根本没有任何蛛丝马迹。他们连是谁洗劫了洗革拉都不知道，更遑论找到敌人了。虽然这是不可能的事，但大卫身边有神。

在半路中，他们发现一个晕倒的少年。他已经三天没有吃东西了。大卫给他吃的喝的，等他精神复原了，大卫便问他：

“你是谁？”

“我是埃及人，是亚玛力人的奴仆，因我三日前患病，我主人就把我撇弃了。我们焚烧了洗革拉。”

“你肯领我们到亚玛力人那里不肯？”

“你要向我起誓，不杀我，也不将我交在我主人手里，我就领你们去。”

那人领大卫下去，见他们散在地上，吃喝跳舞，因为从非利士和犹大地所掳来的财物甚多。大卫和众人大大地击杀他们，找回了失去的家人和一切。

 

当无路可走时，得救的人们会去找谁呢？

只要我们罪得赦免重生了，就与神合一了。但我们并不是从一开始就依靠神。因此，神不断地给我们困难，对我们说：“这样你也不依靠我吗？”困难并不是坏事。平时，人们不寻求神，但疲惫、痛苦时，只能呼求神，说：“神啊！”在绝境中，无路可走时，得救的人会寻求谁呢？会寻求神。就这样，当我们仰望祈求神的帮助时，神会打开道路，特别感谢。

我们的生活再一帆风顺，有时也会有波折。我们有时会遭遇困难，有时也有疲惫的时候。只要我们藉着耶稣的血罪得赦免了，神就不会平白无故地允许这些事情的发生。刚开始遇到困难时，我们不会想太多，但遇到两次、三次之后，我们会意识到：“若在这件事上不仰望神，就无路可走了。看来，这是神为了让我仰望神而允许的困难啊。”

虽然有困难，但每当这时，神都帮助我们，为我们打开解决问题的道路，特别惊奇。没得救的人，遇到巨大的困难，就会无路可走，但得救的圣徒，有了困难，就会去寻求神。虽然有时会有问题，但神与我们同在，并作着工，真是宝贵又感谢。