Episode Details

Are you lonely, like David, a "man on the run"?

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

Remember, tomorrow, we will air a new episode of The Vince Miller Show entitled "Beliefs That Hold You Back." If you have Video Access on our website, this episode is already available; if not, wait until tomorrow. Be in prayer for this Show. We have invested a lot of time and money into this effort, and we hope this will reach out in a new way so others will be able to hear the Gospel.

This week, here in the Daily Devo, we are in 1 Samuel 21. I've titled this chapter "Man On The Run."

David will be on the run for a long time, approximately 12-15 years. In the last chapter, he ran to Naioth in Ramah to Samuel and then back to the rocks in Gibeah. In this chapter, he will run to Nob (the location of the Tabernacle) and then to Gath (the home of Goliath). There will be many more locations, 16 in all, that we will list in the coming chapters (i.e., the Cave of Adullam, the king of Moab at Mizpeh, "the stronghold" maybe Masada, the forest of Hereth, Keilah, the wilderness of Ziph, the wilderness of Maon, strongholds of Engedi, "the stronghold" maybe Masada again, the wilderness of Paran, and the finally back to Achish, the king of Gath.)

So, I will not give you a key verse for this chapter this week. (If I did, I would pick 1 Samuel 21:4.)

Instead, I will share a private excerpt from David's journal during this emotional time, which reveals a lot about what is going on in his mind.

But first, I want you to imagine how lonely David felt in these moments. He has been separated from his family and will never speak to his biological father ever again. His father-in-law (King Saul) wants to kill him and has given a charge to the Israelite army to hunt him down. His wife (Michal) and best friend (Jonathan) cannot communicate with him. He cannot take refuge in Samuel in the Naioth at Ramah. David is a fugitive, a man on the run. At the end of this chapter, David hides in Gath, which is in Philistia, the enemy of Israel, and acts like a madman here to preserve his life from King Saul. There could be no more lonely moment for David.

However, during this chapter, David made two journal entries, Psalms 34 and 56. And I want to read a portion of Psalm 34 for you today so you can see what David is thinking.

The title of this Psalm in your Bible might say:

"Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away."

The name "Abimelech" is a title like "President" or "King," and the man this refers to is named Achish, or "Abimelech Achish" who is the focus of 1 Samuel 21:10-15. Here is what he writes.

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! — Psalm 34:1-3

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of