All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.

“Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”
1 Samuel 22:2, 23 (NIV)

Our local gathering of Jesus’ followers has been focused on a theme this year. The theme is “Refuge over Rejection.” In a world that is increasingly focused on rejecting, cancelling, and shunning anyone we find undesirable or with whom we disagree, we’re spending the entire year digging in what it means to find refuge in God and to be a refuge for others. We’re learning to choose refuge over rejection.

In recent weeks, we’ve talked a lot about Twelve Step groups, where people find themselves when they finally admit they are powerless over their addictions and their lives have become unmanageable. We imagined some of the key characters in the Great Story walking into a Twelve Step group amidst the ruin of their lives and sharing their stories, their tragic mistakes, and their fatal flaws. Even revered “heroes of the faith” had messy, unmanageable lives.

Today’s chapter provides a fascinating contrast between worldly realities – how things appear on the surface, and spiritual realities – what’s going on underneath the surface.

From the world’s perspective, King Saul holds all the cards. He sits on the throne. He has the kingdom at his disposal. He has an equipped army to command. He has wealth, provision, and power.

David, on the other hand, has nothing. He had to borrow Goliath’s sword and some bread from the priest. He’s hiding in a cave in the wilderness. He’s having to beg his nation’s enemies for assistance. No wealth, no provision, no power.

But under the surface of appearances, a different story is playing out in the spiritual realm.

Saul is spiraling further into madness. He is delusional, believing David is “lying in wait” to kill him. His words reveal that his thinking has become extreme — paranoid, all-or-nothing terms in which the entire world is against him and he is the one who is suffering. He’s even turning on his own tribe and most loyal supporters.

“Is that why you have all conspired against me?”
“No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse.” 
“None of you is concerned about me.”

Then Saul goes off the proverbial cliff. Learning that the priest Ahimelek had helped David by giving him Goliath’s sword and some bread — Saul has Ahimelek and his family murdered. He then has all of God’s priests and the entire town of Nob (where Ahimelek was from) massacred. Everyone. Women. Children.

Spiritually? Saul is quickly descending into darkness.

David, on the other hand, is spiritually moving in the opposite direction. Yes, he’s living in the wilderness, an outlaw and fugitive with a price on his head. Yet suddenly finds that he’s not alone. In fact, people want to be with him. His family joins him. A community of societal outcasts and rejects forms around him — looking to David as their leader.

David: The original Robin Hood.

He’s learning to make do with daily bread and survive.
He’s learning to lead a rag-tag band of misfits.
He’s caring for his family and a diverse community.
He’s learning to negotiate and make alliances with other nations.

Spiritually? David is slowly becoming the leader God anointed him to be.

And here is the ironic part.

The man seeking refuge from Saul has become a refuge for others.

Saul rejects and kills everyone he perceives to be against him.
David is a refuge for those “in distress or in debt or discontented.”

And in the quiet this morning, I find myself once again meditating on the theme of “refuge over rejection.” One of the principles that I’ve been chewing on all year is that there is a reciprocal relationship between me needing and experiencing God’s refuge and my ability to be a refuge to others. If I never need or experience refuge — I’m unlikely to be a refuge for anyone else. And believe me, I have needed refuge along my life journey.

I have made messy, tragic mistakes.
My life has been unmanageable.
I’ve been to many Twelve Step meetings.
I know the desperate need for refuge from myself and others.

So when someone needs refuge? I can be like David to Ahimelek’s only surviving son: “Stay with me; don’t be afraid...You will be safe with me.”

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