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TODAY'S TEACHING
When life feels out of control, God may be doing His deepest work. Come discover how He uses difficult days—not to break us, but to shape us into disciples who trust His timing, depend on His presence, and reflect His character.
Once more, David sees that despite his struggles, God is with him. One more lesson for the future - depend on Yahweh even when things look bad for the home team, knowing that…God shapes Disciples through difficult days.
Those who have been through difficult days and been delivered by God’s hand have memories etched into our minds - memories of God’s Presence & provision.
David has now seen Yahweh deliver him many times.
- Yahweh delivered David from the lions & bears that tried to take his sheep.
- Yahweh delivered David from Goliath.
- Yahweh delivered David from Saul on several occasions.
- When’s the last time you paused to consider God’s graciousness in YOUR life?
En Gedi
En-gedi is rocky & hot, with lots of caves, yet has life teeming around it, even fresh water springs and water falls, despite being close the Dead Sea.
En Gedi
The Dead Sea is in the background behind Jackie.
3,000 troops = 5x the size of David’s 600 men.
No text that tells us that Yahweh said, “I will hand your enemy over to you”, related to King Saul. More likely these men are presuming God had said this - and now God had given David an opportunity to kill their enemy. David’s men watch him sneak away in the darkness, expecting him to kill the wicked king.
Notice that David doesn’t return with Saul and head toward home. David continues to stay in the stronghold where he has found protection from Saul. Saul has not been trustworthy yet, so why would he start now.
NOTE: Forgiveness if FREE, but Trust is EARNED.
David did NOT immediately trust the one who had tried to kill him over and over and over.
If David would have killed Saul that day, this would have bypassed the painful process that shaped David as a man who trusted God’s timing & plan.
In King David’s life, we once again see foreshadowing of the ULTIMATE KING of Israel.
Jesus was tempted [by Satan] to bypass the cross and put on the crown.
The devil is essentially saying, “Look Jesus. We all know the plan is for You to be King. Let’s just speed up the process. Sidestep the suffering and take the throne. And all you have to do is (HERE’S THE HOOK): bow your knee to me.”
- It’s the same shortcut the enemy offers to us. “You shouldn’t have to go through this garbage. God doesn’t love you! How could a loving God let you go through this?”
What if Jesus took THAT shortcut and bit that bait? We would still be in our sin with NO PAYMENT for our sins.
So, the next time you face difficult days, and the moments when you wonder why God would let you go through this…REMEMBER that God shapes Disciples through difficult days.
God shapes Disciples through difficult days.…not to destroy us, but to develop us - to be look & act more and more like the Lord Jesus. And I’m guessing that moments before we breathe our last, the reality of eternity that awaits us will outweigh the temporary struggles we have been through. So, until that day, may we make it our desire to grow as disciples of the Lord Jesus - to be conformed into HIS IMAGE.
God shapes Disciples through difficult days to look & act more and more like the Lord Jesus. Until we see him face to face, may we make it our desire to grow as disciples of the Lord Jesus - to be conformed into HIS IMAGE.
SEEK & SERVE JESUS: Get in the Scriptures. Pray. Live like Jesus is alive!
SHARE JESUS: Share the goodness of Jesus with others.
Have questions and need some help? …real soon…how about now? Please call or text us soon!
These discussion questions are designed to help you LIVE what you LEARN with your Family, Friends, or Small Group.
- Reflection: When have you experienced a “difficult day” that God later used to shape your character or faith
- Perspective: Why is it tempting to look for shortcuts around suffering? How do David’s and Jesus’ examples challenge that mindset.
- Encouragement: What practical ways can you remind yourself (or others) that God is still present and working even when life feels out of control?
- Trust: David refused to take vengeance into his own hands. What does that teach us about trusting God’s timing and justice?
- Hope: Dr. Bill Bright said the President “pales in comparison” to meeting Jesus. How does that eternal perspective reshape how we view today’s troubles?
