It Came To Pass

When A Long Time Seems Like A Long Time

1 Samuel 24:1-22 Hebrews 11:32-40

Psalms 13:1-6

„X There are times in our lives, when we can¡¦t believe how quickly the time has flown by, yet there are other times when it has seemed like forever.

„X A lot of it has to do with what we¡¦re going through at the moment we start looking at the clock.

The story is told of a Sunday class that had been asked the question, ¡§in your time of discouragement, what is your favorite Scripture.¡¨ A young man said, ¡§the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want Psalm 23:1.¡¨

A middle age woman said, ¡§God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1. Another woman said, ¡§In this world you shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome this world. John 16:33-35. Then old Mr. John who was 80 years old, with head of white hair and dark black skin, stood up and said with as much strength as he could muster, ¡§and it came to pass¡¨ 85 times in the bible. The class started to laugh a little thinking that old Mr. John¡¦s lack of memory was getting the best of him. When the snickering stopped, he said. At 30 I lost my job with six hungry mouths and a wife to feed. I didn¡¦t know how I would make it. At 40 my eldest son was killed overseas in the war. It knocked me down. At 50 my house burned to the ground. Nothing was saved out of the house. At 60 my wife of 40 years got cancer. It slowly ate away at her. We cried together many a night on our knees in prayer. At 65 she died. I still miss her today. The agony I went through in each of these situations was unbelievable. I wondered where was God. But each time I looked in the bible I saw one of those 85 verses that said, ¡§and it came to pass.¡¨ I felt that God was telling me, my pain and my circumstances were also going to pass and that God would get me through it.

„X a young man by the name of David. David is in his early 20¡¦s and is doing his best to serve God.

„X Samuel had poured oil on his head, and anointed him as the future king of the land.

„X David knew that he was serving God to the best of his ability.

o But the picture being painted of David by King Saul who wanted to get rid of him was quite different. David was being described as a thug, a terrorist, and an outlaw.

o A reward was being offered to anybody who could report where he was. Now even though David had done his best to faithfully serve King Saul,

o Saul was jealous of David and was determined to kill him.

„X Remember, King Saul almost had captured David and his men. The king and his massive number of troops were going up one side of the mountain and David and his mere 600 men were running for their lives down the other side. It looked as though all hope was lost, when suddenly a messenger arrived at King Saul, to let him know, the Philistine army were raiding the country. Saul immediately gave orders to break off the chase of David, and go back to fight the Philistines.

„X After dealing with the Philistines, Saul¡¦s jealousy sent him after David again.

„X It just so happened that David and his men were hiding in a cave.

„X King Saul and his men were outside the cave, but didn¡¦t know David and his men were there. The king wanted to take a nap. His officers suggested, ¡§why don¡¦t you go and sleep in the cool of the cave. We will stand guard out here.¡¨

„X King Saul, fell into a deep sleep. He never heard David¡¦s men urging David to kill him. They told him, ¡§this is God¡¦s plan for your life. Kill your enemy now and become king.¡¨ Yet David refused to try to take something that God had promised to give him. The most he could do, was cut off a piece of Saul¡¦s robe.

„X After Saul left the cave, David shouted out and told him, ¡§Look King, I could have taken your life instead of cutting off a piece of your robe.¡¨ Isn¡¦t this proof I am not your enemy. Why do you keep pursuing my life. Why can¡¦t you just let me live in peace. Why are you stalking me again and again?

„X King Saul was embarrassed at his own foolishness, he promised David, ¡§Look you gave me a tremendous break. You could have killed me, but you didn¡¦t. I promise you, you will not have to worry about me coming after you again.¡¨ With that the king and his troops went home.