Living in the Wilderness

When the Bible first introduces David, he is a shepherd boy-young, unremarkable, unknown. He is called from the fields, as an afterthought it seems, and anointed for kingship. It isn't long before David's name is on the lips of every young woman in Israel and David's deeds are immortalized in song. He is the hero who defeated Goliath. Still a young man, David rises to high rank in the army and marries the King's daughter. Accounts of his exploits in battle against Israel's enemies circulate throughout the nation, each new tale of his bravery and skilfulness in battle exceeding the last. "Then David fled…" That's how chapter 20 begins. "Then David fled…" David's star plummets even faster than it rose. One day every pundit in Israel anticipates David being named King Saul's next chief of staff. The next day David is on the run-heading for the wilderness to escape King Saul's murderous wrath. For David, the next 8 or 10 years are wilderness years. Wilderness, in the Bible, is not about pleasant walks across meadows of wildflowers, with the sunshine pouring down, birds chirping, and bunnies hopping. Wilderness, in the Bible, is about crisis. Wilderness, in the Bible, is about stepping into the unknown, the future unpredictable and uncontrollable.

Wilderness, in the Bible, is about leaving behind the security of home and stepping into danger. Wilderness isn't always exactly the same. Frequently, wilderness is a place of darkness and temptation. Wilderness involves disconnection, disorientation, discomfort, disillusionment, disquiet, disappointment, distress. Wilderness is a place to get to know God deeper than ever before-because in the wilderness, we really need God. Wilderness is where there is a really possibility of despair. Wilderness is where hope is born-because where there is no risk of despair, there is no deep need for hope. Wilderness is where transformation happens. Incremental growth-that can happen when the waters are smooth. But transformation-real transformation that turns our lives upside down and sends us off in a new direction with new faith and new hope and new purpose; transformation that is about dying to self and being raised to new life-that happens when the waters are choppy. Most of us resist being changed; we only let it happen when we have to. Wilderness is where God does some of his best work. Ten chapters of 1 Samuel, at least, are devoted to David's wilderness years. David enters the wilderness a young man on the run. David comes out the other side a man poised to lead the chosen people of God. Wilderness is where you learn that you can't run so fast that God can't find you. Wilderness is where you learn that you can't fall so far that God can't catch you.

Everybody's wilderness experience is different. The way God is at work is different. There is no uniform pattern. Nevertheless, David's story is informative. There are four wilderness growing edges from David's story that we can mention. 1) David learned some important lessons about himself. 2) David learned something about choosing friends. 3) David learned a little something about grace…and about extending grace. 4) David was schooled in the language of lament (or prayer of honest complaint). Wilderness can be a place to learn what we most need to learn about ourselves. For lots of people, that means learning that they are far more resilient and capable than they thought they were. For David, that meant learning that he wasn't quite as perfect as his recent successes might have tempted him to believe. In 1 Samuel 21. David has fled from Saul, and this time there is no going back. He left in a hurry. He had no time to pack, so he has no supplies with him. He doesn't even have a weapon with him. He makes up a story to maintain appearances. "I'm on the King's business," David tells Ahimelech. "I'm on a secret mission, which makes sense since I am so well-thought of by the King. And I'm not alone. My men are waiting just beyond the next hill. Why am I here seeking help? Well, you see, it's just that the secret mission is so urgent that we left without supplies. I even forgot my weapon. But that's just because the mission is so important. It has nothing to do with me being frightened or in trouble or anything.

How many here can identify with David's desire to keep up appearances- -even though his world is falling apart and he needs help? After leaving Ahimelech, David runs straight to the Philistines-the Philistines!!-looking for help. Achish is a Philistine king. David, desperate for someplace to hide from Saul, unwilling to reveal his desperation to his friends, looks for help among those who have sought his destruction. How many here can identify with David here? Why is it that when our world begins to crumble it can be so tempting to go looking for help from those who, in better times, we knew would only lead us to destruction? David, who was so careful to protect his dignity among his friends, resorts to drooling into his beard in front of his enemies. He just manages to convince the Philistine king that he is insane, so that he escapes with his life. David has one place left to go. He flees into the wilderness and hides in a cave. Both of these incidents occur at the beginning of David's wilderness years. There is another incident, later, that has an even more humbling effect on David.

While residing for awhile in the Desert of Moan, David and his men informally provided protection for the employees of a certain wealthy man named Nabal. The keepers of this man's sheep and goats spent a whole season out in the desert without fear of robbers because of David's protection. At the end of the season, David concluded that he and his men were due some compensation for their generous help, but Nabal didn't know David and had no intention of sharing with David. David fell into a rage at this snub. On impulse, he rallied his men and began to march toward Nabal's home. David had every intention of slaughtering the wealthy man and his entire household. Nabal was saved by some quick thinking by his wife, Abigail, who threw together a gift package and met David on the way. Abigail saved Nabal's life. She also saved David. David was saved from acting in the same type of impulsive murderous rage that motivated Saul. David was saved from letting a momentary lust for revenge ruin destroy his reputation for integrity and honour.

David was saved from dragging his anointing to be the next king of Israel through the mud. In the wilderness, David learned a lot about his own weaknesses, and David was humbled. Wilderness can be a place to learn what we most need to learn about ourselves. For lots of people, that means learning that they are far more resilient and capable than they thought they were. For David, that meant learning that he wasn't quite as perfect as his early successes might have tempted him to believe. Common wisdom suggests that wilderness is a good place to learn who your friends really are. Wilderness is also a good place to learn something about choosing friends. Back in the early days, after David left Ahimelech wondering what was really going on, and after David escaped from the Philistines with his life intact (though not his dignity), David fled into the wilderness-leaving behind his friends and his enemies. The new friends that David found in the wilderness weren't all that great to look at. They used rough language. They carried all they owned on their backs. Some were in distress. Some were in debt. Some were discontented. They were not the type of people that a famous warrior from the king's own court would be seen with. But they knew something about wilderness. They met David in the wilderness, and they befriended him there. Wilderness has a way, sometimes, of exposing surface judgments of people for what they are-surface judgments. Wilderness has a way, sometimes, of bringing us into relationship with people we never associated with before.

If we can, by God's grace, navigate the currents that steer us towards people who will lead to destruction, we just might learn something new about the sorts of people who will walk with us through the wilderness and support us along the way. In the wilderness, David learned a little bit about choosing friends. Another time, David and his men and their families live in a town called Ziklag. It is in Philistine territory, but it is the home base of David and his men. A time comes when David and his men march out of Ziklag, intending to go off to battle. Something comes up, however, and they are diverted from the battle they intended to participate in. They head home to Ziklag early. When they get to Ziklag, they find that tragedy and terror have struck while they were away. Raiders came into Ziklag and carried off all the plunder they could carry. Worse than that, they carried off all the women and children-all the families-of David and his men. In the midst of mourning and recrimination, David rallies his men. Within a short time of arriving home, they are back on the march, determined to find the raiders and rescue their families. It turns out that this forced march-on top of their recent long hike out and back-is too much for some of the men.

At a certain point, about a third of the men are left behind with the supplies, and the rest of the men continue the chase. Eventually, David and his men catch up with the raiders. They defeat them. They rescue their wives and children. They retrieve the things that had been stolen from them. And they retrieve a whole lot more. They head back to Ziklag, flushed with victory and overflowing with plunder of their own. On the way back, they meet up again with the men who had stayed behind. Some of the men who had gone the whole way argue that the plunder should not be shared with those who stayed behind. David has another idea. "All will share alike" whether they stayed with the supplies or went all the way. Somewhere in the wilderness, David learned about grace…and extending grace to others. Last, but not least, in the wilderness, David was schooled the language of lament.

Lament is the art of prayerful complaint. Lament is crying out to God with total honesty about the reality of wilderness…about the crisis of wilderness…about the unpredictability and uncontrollability of wilderness…about the danger of wilderness. Lament is the art of prayerful complaint. In the wilderness, David was schooled in the language of lament. In the wilderness, David experienced disconnection, disorientation, discomfort, disillusionment, disquiet, disappointment, distress. In the wilderness, David encountered the real possibility of despair. David brought it all before God. It is generally understood that Psalm 57 is associated with David's flight from Saul.Even a quick scan of the Psalms of David makes clear that David was not hesitant to bring every bit of the crisis of wilderness to God with honest words and honest emotion. One of the reasons, David was so good at writing the language of praise was that he knew the language of lament. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our wilderness experiences, because we know that wilderness trekking produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us.