Freedom House Church and Healing Centre

From Crazy to Covered

Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. ( ^NIV Psalm 34:5)

 Hello Righteous Ones,

I’ve had quite a week since we last spoke, as I’ve been battling a physical affliction from a self-induced bike accident. Contrary to all the wisdom of people around me, and some pride of not wanting to act my age, and even neglecting the voice of Holy Spirit, I have made my bike injury worse by not allowing the proper time to heal. I have finally swallowed the hard truth and come to the conclusion that I am not 16 anymore, and my body does not respond to falls as it once did. Thank God for His grace! So, whilst being laid-up unable to do my regular duties, I have found great solace in Psalm 34, especially claiming verses 19 & 20. 

The back story to this psalm as the introduction states, is the time David faked insanity before the Philistine king Achish of Gath (known by his title Abimilech). The story is found in 1Samuel 21. This is such an incredible story! David has been anointed king of Isreal, but Saul, the current king doesn’t want to abdicate his throne. Under the influence of an evil spirit, Saul wants to kill David, so David is forced to flee. He is in need of a sword and ends up in Nob where he acquires the sword of Goliath whom he had recently killed. Once he gets the sword of Goliath he ends up fleeing to Gath, the hometown of Goliath, in the land of the Philistines, Isreal’s arch-enemey! David is quickly outed once he arrives in Gath as the one who slayed the Philistines. Once recognized, David is filled with fear and afraid of what Achish will do to him, so he pretends he is insane. Well, in my opinion, he must have been half-crazy to go to Goliath’s city with Goliath’s sword in the first place! What was he thinking? By the grace of God, David’s quick thinking allowed him to escape the vengeance of king Achish for he wanted nothing to do with the ‘madman’. 

Was it David’s flesh that took over in desperation to save his own life? Probably! But God was gracious! He knows we are but humans, easily tempted and fearful, and sometimes just downright not wise in our ways. We make wrong choices! But His mercy is everlasting! 1Samuel 22 tells us that David escaped to the cave of Adullam, where his family would come to meet him. But in those hours or days until his family got there, he had time to reflect on his, dare I say, “stupidity” and penned, I believe, Psalm 34. What an incredible Psalm! If you desire, spend a week reading it over and over, meditating on it – it’s a psalm of thanksgiving, of deliverance, of theological truths that reveal a God who is intimately involved in the lives of His righteous ones - our deliverer and savior, who rescues us from all our troubles! David spent time alone in a cave crying out to God:

⁴ I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. (A)

⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. (B)

⁶ This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. (A)

⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. (B)

David’s personal testimony is translated into spiritual truths that apply to all of God’s saints who fear Him: When we cry out to the Lord, He hears us and delivers/saves us from our fears/troubles. These verses form what we call an acrostic poem, that stands alone to be easily remembered and recited. Verses 4 and 6 are parallel verses that say the same thing: when we call out to God, He hears us and comes to our rescue! Verses 5 and 7 expand on the idea that when we call to God, His presence overwhelms us and covers our shame, delivering us from the effects of our choices…that’s grace! That’s mercy! When we look into God’s glory and radiance, we are transformed to radiate like Him. But we must approach Him in humility, in the fear of the Lord. Our shame is taken away; His presence envelops and covers us. God takes away the shame associated with our past, and our current mistakes. Actually, David is remembered as a great king, who defeated Goliath, with a heart after God! Chapters are devoted to this great man of God and his exploits. Only 6 little verses are devoted to David’s momentary indiscretion with King Achish, and many more verses are devoted to the lessons David learned by going through this experience, and all the glory goes to God! God covers our shame! On the cross, Jesus took our shame as He hung naked, beaten and battered for our iniquities, mistakes, sins, trespasses and stupid choices (Isa. 53:5; Heb. 12:2)! Not only has our Savior taken away our shame, He has covered it with His own righteousness – the old is gone, the new is on us! The mistakes of the past have been paid for, covered over with the blood of Jesus! All the mistakes we will ever make are covered as we confess them and bring them to the cross (1John 1:9). The devil wants to bring condemnation and guilt, but Jesus (the Old Testament Angel of the Lord) our Deliverer wants to cover our crazy choices with His righteousness, as He encamps around those who love and fear Him. That’s Grace!

Have a great week!

"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."