{"id":511,"date":"2022-02-09T19:04:27","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T19:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/?p=511"},"modified":"2022-02-11T21:27:07","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T21:27:07","slug":"where-are-you-running-for-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/?p=511","title":{"rendered":"Where are You Running for Refuge?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

David\nis the most prominent Bible character besides Jesus. His name, mentioned 1,139 times\nin the KJV, means \u201cbeloved.\u201dHe was loved by God and still is by\nmillions of Bible readers inspired by his story. But not everyone loved him. He\nwas hated by some of his own brothers, his father-in-law, King Saul, and all the\nenemies of Israel. God\u2019s favor on David\u2019s life provoked jealousy and placed a\nbullseye on his back. Jesus warned, \u201c<\/em>You will be hated by all for My\nname\u2019s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved\u201d<\/em> (Mt. 10:22). We can endure being the target of hell\u2019s hatred when\nwe know we\u2019re the focus of heaven\u2019s love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine David\u2019s emotional roller coaster ride. When this harp player turned giant slayer killed Goliath, he went from a zero to an instant hero. The farm boy from obscurity became an overnight celebrity. God promoted him from the pasture to palace (2 Sam. 7:8). He was appointed captain of Saul\u2019s army and ate caviar in the castle. He was living like royalty when, suddenly, the red carpet was jerked out from under him. His dream turned into a nightmare. Saul\u2019s insane jealousy became a sinister obsession to destroy him. As quickly as David became the most famous face in Israel, Saul vilified him as public enemy number one. He nursed a vicious vendetta against him and threw his spear at David three different times to kill him, but each time he escaped (1 Sam. 18:11; 19:10). Saul put a bounty on his head, mounted a massive manhunt, and chased him as a fugitive for years. Our adversary seeks to destroy us daily too (1 Pt. 5:8), but God\u2019s hand is a supernatural shield around us (Ps. 5:12).     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

David, now an outlaw, ran for his life hiding in woods and caves (1 Sam. 23:14). We are all running somewhere. When the going gets tough, we will either run toward God or away from God for refuge. When life is unfair, people mistreat you, and the enemy attacks you from all sides, where do you run for refuge? The old hymn still rings true, \u201cWhere could I go? O where could I go? Seeking a refuge for my soul. Needing a Friend to help me in the end, where could I go but to the Lord?\u201d<\/em> David ran to five specific people or places which are all spiritually significant:

1. David ran to the prophet Samuel in Ramah<\/strong>\u20141 Sam. 19:18-24. What a perfect person and place to run to in a crisis. Ramah was a town full of prophets, so David ran to the prophet of God (who anointed him the next king earlier) for prayer and advice. When you\u2019re facing a trial, get in God\u2019s presence and around anointed people who can pray you through to victory. Don\u2019t withdraw into a shell and isolate yourself. Find other believers to stand with you and support you. There\u2019s power in partnership with anointed people.

2. David ran to his best friend Jonathan<\/strong>\u20141 Sam. 20:1. They were brothers-in-law, but closer than brothers. Jonathan, meaning \u201cthe Lord has given,\u201d was a spiritual friend who \u201cstrengthened his hand in God\u201d (1 Sam. 23:16). He saw God\u2019s favor on David and was supportive not envious of his success. They were BFFs\u2014\u201cThe soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul\u201d<\/em> (1 Sam. 18:1). Earlier, Jonathan made a covenant with David and gave him his royal robe, sword, bow, and belt (1 Sam. 18:4). That\u2019s like giving someone your favorite hunting rifle, fishing pole, knife, and boots. We all need spiritual friends we can turn to when life gets tough. True friends know us in and out but love us anyway. They love us enough to tell us the truth even when it hurts. True friends build your faith, let you vent without judging, and keep your secrets safe. Later, when Jonathan was slain in battle, David mourned, \u201cI am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; you have been very pleasant to me; your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women\u201d<\/em> (2 Sam. 1:25-26). It was a different level of love, not romantic or sexual. (Some try to twist this into something perverted. David was not gay; he had multiple wives\u20142 Sam. 3:2-5.) They shared a deep bond of trust and goodwill that comes from common interests and experiences. It\u2019s an \u201cI\u2019ve-got-your-back-no-matter-what\u201d loyalty that will do anything for a friend in need. Jonathan repeatedly stuck his neck out and helped David avoid King Saul knowing it jeopardized his own shot at the throne. Everyone needs a friend like that they can run to.

3. David ran to Ahimelech the Priest in Nob<\/strong>\u20141 Sam. 21:1-9. Nob was a Levitical city of priests two miles from Jerusalem (1 Sam. 22:19). This was another spiritual place to find sanctuary among godly people. There David found a priest to console him. We also have a great High Priest we can run to for help (Heb. 4:14-16). He also received provision to sustain him (Ahimelech gave him showbread to feed him and his famished men). Then Ahimelech gave him Goliath\u2019s sword. This was a trophy from a former victory which became a prophetic promise. You see, what God has done, He will do again. David\u2019s faith soared, \u201cIf God brought me through the biggest battle of my life, He\u2019ll carry me through this one too! The same God who helped me defeat Goliath will deliver me from King Saul.\u201d Goliath\u2019s sword was a tangible reminder of God\u2019s greatness and faithfulness\u2014He can and will move for me again!

4. David ran to Gath<\/strong>\u20141 Sam. 21:10-15. This was a major mistake. What was he thinking? It was a bad idea to go to Gath, Goliath\u2019s hometown, carrying Goliath\u2019s sword. That would get you noticed or hurt in a hurry. Achish, King of Gath, means \u201cserpent charmer\u201d (a fitting type of the devil). Gath was a pagan, Philistine city and a hotbed of evil. This is the spiritual equivalent of running to the world and sin for refuge instead of the church. When some people face trouble, they run to drugs, alcohol, immorality, and other addictions. This bad decision led David to fear and foolish behavior. He pretended to be insane (he faked a seizure and let his saliva drool down his beard) in order to escape. Don\u2019t run to Gath (the pagan world won\u2019t help you). Instead, run to Ramah or Nob, run to God and His people for the help you need.

5. David ran to the Cave of Adullam<\/strong>\u20141 Sam. 22:1-2. David was the original \u201cCaptain Caveman.\u201d Here we find Captain Dave in his man cave. Adullam means \u201cresting place or hiding place.\u201d The Hebrew root means \u201cto dangle\u201d (as a bucket at the end of a rope). David was at the end of his rope. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on! That\u2019s usually when God shows up. Exhausted, David hit rock bottom, then God started turning things around. He brought 400 men (diamonds in the rough) into his life for him to lead. \u201cEveryone who was in distress . . . in debt, and . . . discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them\u201d<\/em> (1 Sam. 22:2). Talk about a rag tag, motley crew of misfits! But God used David to turn these losers into winners who later became mighty men of valor in his army. In our times of brokenness, God teams us with other broken people who are going through similar situations. It\u2019s mutually beneficial\u2014we need them, and they need us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, where are you running today? Are you\nrunning toward God (to Samuel, Jonathan, or Ahimelech)? Or are you running away\nfrom God (to Gath)? Trouble in life is inevitable. Just remember, you have a\nrefuge you can run to\u2014\u201cGod is our refuge<\/strong> and strength, a very present\nhelp in trouble\u201d<\/em> (Ps. 46:1).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David is the most prominent Bible character besides Jesus. His name, mentioned 1,139 times in the KJV, means \u201cbeloved.\u201dHe was loved by God and still is by millions of Bible readers inspired by his story. But not everyone loved him. He was hated by some of his own brothers, his father-in-law, King Saul, and all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=511"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":528,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions\/528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}