Wednesday – History

Reading – 1 Samuel 19-20

Highlight Verses:

“But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭19‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love how honest the Bible is.

In this case we see Saul in full blown mental illness.

I won’t try to diagnose Saul nor excuse his actions. He was obviously jealous to a disturbing level.

David, on the other hand, stayed level-headed and got himself out of that bad situation. He maintained respect for Saul despite his obvious problems.

It’s so easy to lash back when we’re hurt. The injustice and feeling of persecution puts us on the defensive.

What would happen to us if we were able to stay in control and just remove ourselves from terrible situations?

In David’s case, he outlasted the persecution with integrity

which resulted in him becoming one of the greatest kings of all time.

How do you react when persecuted?
What would happen if you removed yourself from the line of fire while maintaining respect for your persecutor as a person?

If you are a mental health professional, please tell me if I am way off with this line of thought.