I miss the Lord (Part I)-Dr Nathaniel Omilani

David was a man of many parts, and he can only be understood based on the context in which you are studying him. For example, he was dramatic at Gath (I Samuel 21:10-15); he pretended to have lost his mind. David deliberately dripped saliva on his beard. He had a reason for acting like a mad man at that time. I am not focusing on what happened in Gath. Instead, I want to divide the life of this saint of old into two sections.

The first section is the twilight of his enthronement.

Twilight Enthronement

For a reminder, David was anointed king when he was about seventeen years old by Prophet Samuel (I Samuel 16). A prophet usually does the enthronement of a king in Israel. Although King Saul was still occupying the throne, David was anointed a king by Samuel. One is tempted to ask if there were two kings; there were no two kings but one. From the day David was anointed king, the spirit of God that operates with the king of Israel rested upon him. On the other hand, the spirit of God departed from Saul, who sat upon the throne at that time, and an evil spirit came upon him. Saul became incapacitated; no wonder he threw a spear at everyone, including his son.

May I tell you to always pray for our traditional rulers who are Christians. Unlike Israel, Idolatry was our traditional religion in Africa, and the spirit that works with kings is the evil spirit. Anytime a child of God occupies a traditional stool, there will be contention. This is because the evil spirit will want to resist such God’s children from having a peaceful reign. This is just a necessary digression.

 

For many years, the anointed David was in the wilderness, running away from Saul, who was pursuing him to kill him.

I Samuel 23:17

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”

Saul knew that David would be king after him, and he would not watch it happen.

 

When David was in the wilderness, he did not sleep in a good bed most of the night. During the heat of the day and the cold of the night, David had no roof on his head. He practically begged for bread all through this time. Sometimes he raided the Philistines during this period for survival (I Samuel 27:8-10). Things were very rough and challenging for David.

One day, David met Saul in the wilderness of En Gedi (I Samuel 24). God handed Saul over to David at the rock of wild goats, but David did not kill him. On another day, David had another opportunity to kill Saul in the wilderness of Ziph (I Samuel 26). David spared the life of Saul again. He made a remarkable statement which we will discuss today.

 

I Samuel 26:19

Now therefore, please, let my lord (Saul) the king hear the words of his servant (David): If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, For they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods.

 

In the dispensation in which David operated, worship is tied to a location. Shiloh or Ramah were the places of worship. David expressed his sadness because his attempt to escape Saul’s denied him the opportunity to visit the designated places of worship. In David’s words, they have told him to go and serve other gods. Although David did not serve other gods when he was with the Philistines, he made Saul realize that he has missed the presence of God.

 

David did not miss the comfort of his bed, nor his wife and good meals. Now our worship is not based on any location. We can connect to God anywhere (John 4:21). Yet some of us don’t miss God. We become busy for days without quiet time and personal bible study. Some people have not attended midweek service in years. During the day, your thoughts should be saturated with the Godly issues. You should also miss the company of other brethren.

Psalm 63 :1 must be our watchword

_O God, you are my God;
I will seek you diligently.
My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you
as in a dry and weary land without water._

*Action Point*

Pray the following point

Oh Lord, let me love you dearly and follow you nearly more and more