1 Samuel 30:11-15 “And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company."
David and his 400 warriors left the Brook Besor in pursuit of the invaders. David knew that God had promised him the victory over these marauders and that he would recover everything that had been stolen. In spite of the doubts prevailing in the minds of his men, David had Divine assurance things were going to be alright and held onto that fact regardless of the attitude of his men. This brings me to the facts of this passage.
David did not know the way, but he remembered the way maker.
Remember, he did not know the location of the enemy’s camp. He was going on simple blind faith and trusting in the Lord. How many times have you stepped out on nothing but faith and trusted God for an answer? How many times have answers escaped you because you had to take a different direction than you thought?
Research is wonderful and so is knowledge. Yet neither of the two can really prepare you for the unexpected paths that situations in life can take you. Just as sure as you think you have it planned out, something unexpected comes along.
Isaiah wrote these words of the Lord to another generation in Isaiah 42:16 when he said,
"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”
You may not know the way, but God does. He will somehow show you which direction to go by using whatever means necessary to get your attention. If you remember who He is it makes the journey a whole easier.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
God has a way of putting somebody in your path that has been where you have been before.
Verses 11-15 tell us the sad story of the young Egyptian servant that had been abandoned by his Amalekite master in the wilderness because of sickness. Basically, he was left without food or water and to die. His circumstances couldn’t have been worse and had it not been for David and his warriors coming by he surely would have died.
David might not have recognized what God was teaching him at the moment, but you and I have the opportunity to look at this picture and what we see in many ways is a portrait of what David had been through.
David had felt a sense of abandonment because of his fears and frustrations in dealing with King Saul. David was sick because of the losses he had suffered at the hands of the Amalekites. David had lost his sense of purpose and direction because he settled for less than God intended for him to be. Always remember that God will not forsake you!
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Psalm 94:14 “For the LORD will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance.”
However, there are some things we need to forsake!
Proverbs 28:13 “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
Again, that’s the reason God puts somebody who’s been through what we’re facing at the moment to help us see the way through and out. That individual is able to give some powerful advice to help you. They can Tell you every detail of what they did and what happened to them as they faced their adversity, retrace their steps and point out small details that may give you encouragement in just the areas you need for that moment, and guide you to the right place at the right time because that is what God put them there for.God will go the second mile to help someone who will put it all on the line to help another in their time of need. That’s why we go through all the stuff we do in life-so we can help others who are facing what we have faced.
The Egyptian servant asked David to swear by God two simple things:
-That he would not take his life.
-That he would not return him to his master.
Maybe this is why the Psalmist could write in Psalm 146:5-7 “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners.”
John records the word of Jesus in John 8:36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
His company had been toiling and negotiating on an offer for months. It had become the obsession of his office. They finally had a realistic proposal and he was sitting across from his customer.
“Thanks, Dave,” he said, “but we’ll have to pass this year.”
He was devastated. How could he face his employees? The loss of this million dollar deal would result in layoffs. His stomach initially tied in knots over presenting the bid, was now wrenched tighter. He simply could not understand how the client could afford to refuse their offer. He dreaded returning to the office.
Pulling into a truck stop he ordered coffee before returning to the office. His waitress was friendly, although slightly distracted. As she poured the coffee and he nonchalantly said hello and asked how she was. He fully expected the traditional Southern response, “fine…and you?”
“Oh, I’ve been better,” she began. “My husband abandoned me and the kids after Katrina. Left us stranded here and this is the only job I could find. It ain’t too bad mind you. The boss lets me work around my kids so they ain’t at home alone. But yesterday someone stole my purse. It had everything in it, birth certificates, shot records, social security cards, everything I had evacuated with. And every penny we had, $300.00 was in there. Now I don’t so much mind they took the money, it’s just money, but all those important papers. I need those for the kids and their schooling. I don’t even know if I can get new papers with New Orleans being in such a mess.”
He bobbed his head with feigning interest in her conversation. He wanted to interrupt her and point out that she had only lost $300.00. He had just lost millions. Before he could reply, she turned to another table.
Sipping the warmth, he thought about their dilemmas. Both of them had been dealt a raw deal, but self-pity made him feel that somehow his loss was greater. Proportionally though, their losses were probably equal.
As he drank his coffee he flipped his cell phone and attempted to scan emails. No reception. Shutting it, he sank into the comfort of the red plastic padded dining booth and stared aimlessly. His daze was interpreted by the newly familiar voice.
“They found it!” She squealed with delight. “They found my purse! All our important papers were still there. We’re gonna be alright!”
Everyone in the truck stop applauded.
She came to refresh his coffee; he declined the offer and congratulated her good fortune. She was gracious and told him to have a nice day as he took his ticket and headed for the cash register.
“She’s still out $300.00,” the Holy Spirit whispered.
“Okay,” he acknowledged. “I’ll leave a $20.00. That’s a 1000% tip.”
“She’s still out $300.00,” came the Voice again.
“All right,” he moaned, “I’ve got $50.00 in my wallet. I’ll leave that.”
“She lost $300.00,” repeated the Voice.
“Look, God,” he began. “I just lost a million dollar deal. Have a little sympathy for me!”
“She lost $300.00,” the Voice insisted.
“All right, all right,” he grudgingly relented. Taking out his American Express he paid for the coffee and wrote in a $300.00 tip. Walking through the parking lot to his car, he tried his cell phone again, still no tower. He got in his car and headed for the office trying to think of a diplomatic way to break the bad news
Opening the door to his office, his secretary practically leapt from her desk to greet him.
“Mr. Smith,” she bubbled, “You’ll never guess who just called!”
“Do I have to?” he asked.
“Oh no sir, I was just so excited I couldn’t help myself” she beamed. “Mr. Jones called right after you left. He tried getting you on your cell, but he said he couldn’t reach you. Must have been in a dead zone, right sir?”
She inhaled and continued at lightening speed, “Anyway he said he went over the figures you gave him with his sales and production staff after your meeting. They decided to double the order. Can you believe it! Doubled the order! Our price was just too good to pass. They have faxed over the signed contracts! Isn’t that fantastic? The contracts are on your desk.”
Stunned, he looked at his secretary in utter disbelief, “He said what?”
She slowly repeated the telephone conversation. He could not believe it. He walked into the office to examine the faxed contracts for himself. He noted the time on the fax and the American Express receipt. They were the same.
Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Psalm 9:9, 10 “The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
Psalm 37:39 “But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.”
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