The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly.
It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.
— 1 Samuel 24:4-5
Most of us have experienced being troubled by the Lord in our conscience in this way. As we prayed for something or did something, we were checked by the Lord. Is He really our Lord? How often we demand things of Him that He hasn’t sought for us. Whatever we seek apart from Him will eventually bring us trouble. Whatever we do according to Him becomes a blessing to us, making us happy because He is happy. This is why the Lord allows us to be exposed through such incidents as David’s cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 77.
Tomorrow: “Encountering Saul in the Cave” (5)