Crazy Kind of Faith

Desperation Leads to Drastic Measures

Let’s set the stage

At this point in David’s life, he is at an all-time low

He is forced to flee from Saul who is in pursuit to kill him

He find himself in desperation at the gates of Gath - The hometown of Goliath

His situation went from bad to worse. Fleeing from an enemy to being outside an enemies camp!

1 Samuel 21:10–15 “And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

David is recognized and in danger. He panics and pretends to be insane to escape.

Sometimes in life, faith will require us to act outside of what seems rational, even if it feels crazy.

Does anyone care to share example in their own life that might fit this depiction?

The Turning Point: When Crazy Meets Trust

1 Samuel 22:1 “David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.”

From Gath, David escapes to the cave of Adullam

This is where David has a moment to gather his thoughts.

He then realizes what God brought him out of.

He did not allow the enemy camp to consume him and defeat him!

Scholars believe that in this cave, David wrote Psalm 34.

He didn’t stay in fear, but turned his panic into praise!

He had the faith and the Trust in God that he would keep His promise to David.

He had Crazy Faith

It’s not that we have reckless faith - but is a radical type of dependence or faith in God ability when ours runs out.

That’s the faith that David had

The Praise That Follows the Panic

Now that we understand where David was coming from and have an idea of His thought process when writing Psalm 34 we can examine it!

Psalm 34:1–7 “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! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”

(Free flow on these thoughts that are bolded. We can allow discussion to ensue in this moment with everyone)

Deliverance Is Not Always Pretty on the Outside

To those around David at Gath, is act of insanity looked foolish and they wanted nothing to do with him.

But that got him to the cave where he could worship and reflect.

He found PEACE and FREEDOM in a cave.

Sometimes God’s path to your breakthrough looks nothing like what you'd expect.

We need to stop asking God to change our circumstances to what we would want, but ask God to give us what we need so that we can see clearly that God is for us.

Let’s Be a Little Crazy for Jesus

What can that crazy faith look like for us?

Trust when it doesn’t make sense.

praise before provision

Move when it doesn’t make sense.

How are we able to find this crazy faith like David? It’a quite simple!

What I didn’t mention earlier is that David had something with him at Gath

1 Samuel 21:9 “And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”

The sword was a reminder to David of God’s promise to him.

What do we have at our disposal that serves as a reminder to us of God’s promise in our times of need?

We have the Bible! God’s holy word that contains all of God’s promises to us. And reminds us of the truth of the Gospel.

From Gath to Glory

Let’s close this up.

David went from groveling like a mad man in Gath in a crazy faith that God would deliver him from his enemies to glorifying God in a cave.

The fact that David wrote Psalm 34 in a cave is proof that God can still bring THREE things:

Clarity

Courage

Testimony

Psalm 34:22 “The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”

Invitation