His Heart Struck Him

There's a story from the Old Testament that has always fascinated me. It took place by the Wildgoats' Rocks near the wilderness of Engedi. What a location!

David was on the run. Though he had been anointed as the next king of Israel, he wasn't in charge yet. Think about what a confusing time this must have been for David. Imagine experiencing a prophet showing up at your house and anointing you as the next king of Israel. How do you live with that knowledge?

After David gained popularity, Saul (the current king) began to try to kill him. How would you feel if you were David? David knew he was God's chosen leader, but it probably didn't feel like it while he ran through the wilderness as a fugitive.

David and his band of supporters retreated to the Wilderness of Engedi, somewhere near those Wildgoats' Rocks. They heard that Saul's men were near so they hid in a cave.

This crazy story takes place in 1 Samuel 24. The weird circumstances start in verse 3, when we discover that Saul went into the cave where David and his men were hiding to "relieve himself." Imagine that! David's sworn enemy, who was clutching to the throne that belonged to him, walked right into his hands. Then, he lifted his skirt and became very vulnerable.

David's men could hardly contain themselves. "Here is the day," they said, pointing out to David that maybe God was delivering Saul into his hands. Everything pointed to this moment being the point where David should seize control. The circumstances pointed that way, and David's friends thought so too.

Here's what happens:

Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way (1 Samuel 24:4-7).

What?! Why didn't David end Saul's life and take the throne that was rightly his? David makes a choice to go against what the circumstances and his friends told him. I've always wondered how David knew how to make this decision. I feel like, if it was me, I would have taken my chance to end Saul. I might have even done so believing that God had orchestrated this moment. How did David know he shouldn't?

1 Samuel 24:5 says that "David's heart struck him." Isn't that odd? We are taught throughout Scripture that our hearts can easily lead us astray. But if you know David's story, you know there was something special about his heart. God called David "a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). David's heart was led by God. It was his heart that "struck" him and tipped him off that he was headed in the wrong direction in confronting Saul in the cave. The timing wasn't right. It wasn't God's plan. Perhaps the people of Israel wouldn't view David usurping the throne in the right light. Perhaps David's men weren't aware of Saul's posse that waited just outside the cave. Regardless, David makes a choice many of us wouldn't have, because the Spirit of God led him. The voice of God was loudest in his heart.

Where is your heart leading you? Can you trust it? Is God leading you?

Pray this with me today:
Father God, make your voice louder than any other in my heart. I want to hear and follow you more than my circumstances or the advice of others. Keep my eyes on you. AMEN.