God speaks to us through circumstance. Right? I mean, when He opens the door we go through it. Right? And when He shuts a door, we wait until He opens a window. Right?
Did you ever stop to think, however, that maybe just maybe the “door of opportunity” may not have been opened by God? Or perhaps that God opened the door but didn’t want you to go through it?
Young David found himself in a situation. Running for his life from his archenemy, King Saul, he is suddenly thrown into a situation where it is obvious God has handed his enemy over into his hands! Having heard that Saul and 3000 warriors had come in search of him, David made his way to Saul’s camp, “And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.” (1 Samuel 26:5 NASB).
Recognizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, David invites Abishai, one of his top men, to accompany him into Saul’s camp. Abishai also recognized the opportunity of a lifetime. it was with much eagerness that he said, “Today God has handed your enemy over to you; now then, please let me pin him with the spear to the ground with one thrust, and I will not do it to him a second time.” (1 Samuel 26:8 NASB).
Imagine Abishai’s surprise when David’s response is quite opposite to what he expected: “Do not kill him, for who can reach out with his hand against the Lord’s anointed and remain innocent?” (1 Samuel 26:9 NASB).
I can almost hear him stammering, “but … but … God has given him into our hands! Every sign points to this! What do you mean I can’t kill him???”
Nonetheless, David replies: “As the Lord lives, the Lord certainly will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I would reach out with my hand against the Lord’s anointed!” (1 Samuel 26:10-11 NASB).
Instead David instructed Abishai to take a jug of water along with Saul’s spear, then crossing to the other side and standing atop a mountain, David called out, chiding the head of the army for his inability to protect the king. Upon hearing David’s voice, Saul called out, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again since my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have made a very great mistake.” (1 Samuel 26:21 NASB).
David’s reply is priceless: “…for the Lord handed you over to me today, but I refused to reach out with my hand against the Lord’s anointed. Therefore behold, just as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may He rescue me from all distress.” (1 Samuel 26:23b-24 NASB).
But wait. Did you catch that? David said, “…for the Lord handed you over to me today…”! David recognized that God Himself had opened the door of opportunity! Why, then, if he knew this was of the Lord, did David refuse to take Saul’s life?
Because David understood something vitally important: not every open door is a gift of God! Sometimes those open doors aren’t meant to be taken. Sometimes the circumstantial evidence is nothing more than a test!
How did David know this was a test? Because he understood that we must test all “open doors”, even those opened by God Himself, by the veracity of God’s Word! “To the Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because they have no dawn.” (Isaiah 8:20 NASB) God’s Word told David that because Saul had been chosen and anointed with oil, he was holy, not to be murdered in cold blood by someone who fears the Lord! God will not go against His word!
What open door of opportunity stands before you? Even if you know it is of the Lord, you need to put it to the test! If it goes against the Word of God, then take lessons from David: turn and run in the opposite direction!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Cnaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
