Our True Hero

But David kept thinking to himself, “Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.”  So David took his 600 men and went over and joined Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.  (1 Samuel 27:1-2 NLT) 

We love to hear and speak about the heroes of the Bible, and rightly so.

Yet, the true hero in all our Bible stories is always God.

 

David was said to be a “man after God’s own heart,” yet we see him giving up and going over to the enemy. Subsequently, he has to feign insanity to stay alive (1 Samuel 21:13). In the end, King Achish forsakes David (1 Samuel 29). Unbelief always leads to disappointment.

 

David’s experience is not an isolated story in the Bible. Elijah, after his great victory over Baal on Mount Carmel, ran in fear from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-3). After saying that he would die for the Lord, Peter denied Him three times ((Luke 22:54-62). At times, the history of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants reads like a trashy novel. The Bible clearly records that the best of us still have clay feet.

 

We don’t like to hear things like this about our heroes, yet God must have a message for us. God uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect will.  We should never place our security in mere flesh. I am not suggesting that God is not concerned with bad behavior because he is. Nevertheless, if he waited to use us until all our ducks are in a row, he would be delaying a long time.  Unflattering stories about our Bible heroes can be an encouragement to us. They remind us that the true hero in all our stories is the Lord Jesus, and if God can use the fallible characters described in the Bible, he might be able to show his glory through flawed people like you and me. 

 

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes, the author of  “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
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