And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
1 Samuel 23:14
This morning as I sat with God and His Word, feeling more than a bit in the desert valley, the Lord spoke to me as I read about David.
David was anointed by God – anointed to be King, “a man after His {God’s} own heart” (1 Samuel 13:22) – and yet David finds himself running for his life – running away from Saul and hiding out in the wilderness, in the desert and in caves.
As I read the verse above I felt comforted in my spirit.
As David ran for his life, he found himself staying in strongholds in the wilderness, in the valley, in the desert.
According to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary a Stronghold is:
1. a fortified place
2. a place of security or survival
In the midst of the wilderness, the valley and the desert, David found fortified places of security and survival. And where did those strongholds come from? The Lord provided them. The verse says: “Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.”
And how did God protect him from Saul? He provided strongholds in the midst of the wilderness, the valley and the desert.
As I thought about that, the Father in His grace and mercy reminded me of the many strongholds He has placed in my path in the many years I’ve been walking with Him and even more comforting, in the years before I walked with Him.
As I continued to seek the Lord, He showed me a few things about strongholds:
1) Others will be drawn to your stronghold:
Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.
1 Chronicles 12:8 NIV
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.
1 Chronicles 12:16 NIV
And once in your stronghold they will be touched by the Glory of God that flows in and through you!
2) God IS your stronghold:
My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior– from violent men you save me.
2 Samuel 22:3 NIV
The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 NIV
He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
Psalm 144:2 NIV
Your stronghold is not the place, the people or the protection. Your stronghold is Lord God of Heaven and Earth. He is your stronghold and as you abide in Him, He will make a way to the place, the people, the word of encouragement, the word of confirmation, the unexpected smile or hug.
3) Sometimes God calls us out of the stronghold:
But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
1 Samuel 22:5 NIV
David was in a stronghold, a place of safety, but God, through the prophet, called him out of the place of safety to guide him elsewhere, to a place of greater safety. When God calls us out of our comfort zone, our physical space, our group of friends, leaving us feeling exposed and unsure, KNOW that He is just moving your from one stronghold to a greater stronghold.
Trust and be obedient and He will guide and direct your path, even when it looks and feels uncertain.
4) God has work for you to do:
Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
1 Sam 23:2
So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
1 Sam 23:5
God requires that we trust Him and are obedient as we walk with Him. When David came out of the place of security, the Lord used him and his army to defeat the Philistines and save Keilah. When we recognize that the Lord is our stronghold, not our “comfort” zone, then He will call us out from our places of security and use us mightily for His Kingdom and Glory.
What or Who are you trusting as your Stronghold today?
How is that impacting your willingness to walk freely in the desires of your heart that the Lord has placed within you?
