David began as a young shepherd boy tending his father's sheep, until he was anointed by the Prophet Samuel when he was around twelve to fifteen years old. Then he challenged the giant Goliath and served as a musician in King Saul's court for three to five years. This age range is from reverse engineering ages we are actually provided in Scripture.

David gained a reputation for bravery and was well-known throughout Israel for killing Goliath. He became a commander in Saul's army, and they wrote songs about him. David was rising to the top, and King Saul gave David his daughter Michal as his wife. However, one day when David came in with the army, the women sang and danced with tambourines singing:

(1 Samuel 18:7 NKJV)  So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”

King Saul became furious, and envious of David. The next day while David was playing music, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with a spear, but David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the Spirit of the LORD had left him and was with David.

Eventually Saul sent servants to stake out David's house and kill him when he left in the morning, but David slipped away in the night. Michal basically built a scarecrow in the bed and covered it with clothing. When David didn't come out of the house the next morning, and Saul's servants came in looking for him, she pointed at the lump on the bed and said "He's sick." They told King Saul, and he said, well bring him down here in his bed so I can kill him! But David was long gone and went to see the Prophet Samuel in Ramah. 

David was probably around twenty-two when he skipped town and ran for his life. That night was followed by years of David fleeing from his father-in-law whose primary focus in life was now to kill David. Around the mountains, through the valleys, and across rivers, David always managed to stay one step ahead of Saul. 

Saul had a hard time finding David because he was elusive. He went to Gibeah, Naioth, Nob, and Ramah. He lived in a cave in Adullam. For a while, he lived with the Philistines in Gath. David took his parents to live in Moab while he lived in forests, wilderness, and strongholds. 

David lived as a fugitive on the run. Other men who were "distressed and discontented" began to join him, and soon he had gathered about four-hundred men, who became an army. Many became David's "Mighty Men." 

King Saul and his army caught up with David a couple of times, and the LORD gave David an opportunity to kill his enemy, but David refused to harm the LORD's anointed. Saul had been anointed by the Prophet Samuel, and David recognized that.

Once, Saul entered a cave in En Gedi to "relieve himself" while David and his four-hundred men were hiding inside the cave. Can you imagine what a sight? It looked like the LORD handed Saul over on a silver platter, squatting down, and whistling along with his back turned to four-hundred men with spears who were urging David to kill him. David crept up and cut off a corner of Saul's robe, but even that made him feel guilty. 

Later, while David was at the wilderness of Ziph, King Saul showed up with 3,000 men and set up camp. David and Abishai crept into the middle of Saul's camp where he was sleeping and took Saul's spear and his jug of water from beside his head. The LORD had caused a deep sleep to come over the camp. Abishai wanted to pin Saul to the ground with the spear and pleaded with David, saying "I won't have to strike him twice!" Again, David spared Saul's life, and they left him in peace. David believed that the LORD set up kings, and He takes them down.

After having been a fugitive on the run for roughly seven to ten years, David and his motley crew were living in a town called Ziklag. The Philistine King Achish had given David the town as a base of operations because David was now a legendary warrior with a group of 'mighty men,' and Achish wanted to secure his loyalty and keep him nearby.

One day, while David and his men were out raiding, Amalekite raiders captured Ziklag, took all the women and children hostage, and torched the city.

(1 Samuel 30:1-5 NKJV)  Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.

This was a horrible, depressing low point for David. He had lived at Ziklag longer than anywhere else. This was home to them. He and the men had built families and friendships there. Now, the Amalekites had carried away their families and belongings. David and the men wept until they had no more strength to weep. Then it became even worse, as his own mighty men discussed stoning David.

(1 Samuel 30:6 NKJV)  Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

So David is sitting there in ashes with his family gone, his town burned, and his men talking about killing him. On top of that, he had been running from King Saul now for nearly ten years. It must have seemed so long ago that Samuel had anointed him that day as a king. That deal sure went south. That was nearly twenty years ago now, and Saul was still king. And even if Saul died today, he had several sons that would take his place as king.

David needed answers. He needed direction. He turned to the LORD:

(1 Samuel 30:7-8 NKJV)  Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

A word from the LORD changes everything and David desperately needed one. That was a dark, depressing valley for David, but within seventy-two hours, David and his men had recovered ALL. They chased the Amalekites down, and took back all their wives and children. They took everything they had with them, including loot from other towns the Amalekites had raided along the way. 

That was an incredible recovery; a real pinch yourself moment. Yet it was only the beginning, for soon after David returned he received word that King Saul and three of his sons were killed on Mount Gilboa. His exile was over. David was soon crowned King of Judah, and a few years later, King of Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king and he reigned forty years. What an adventure it was from the anointing to wearing the crown. David waited nearly twenty years, and then at his lowest point, everything changed in a single week.

This is the way. The anointing comes first. The crown comes later. And in between, there is a wilderness that looks nothing like the promise at all. 

When I was young, the LORD told me through a prophet, (Paul Tafoya - TX), that I would be in ministry one day and to prepare myself for it. I went through seminary, earned a degree, got ordained, and then found every door in ministry closed. So I spent most of the next twenty years working on computers and networks and forgot about ministry. I had many reasons why He had never opened that door. God knows I had given Him plenty, and I had come to peace with that.

Sometime before 2012, I went through a spiritual revival season where I was urged by the Spirit to pray every day at 3 PM. I would go into my music room, close the door, lay on the floor under the keyboard and pray in the Spirit for one to three hours, every day at 3 PM. It was incredible. The Holy Spirit would descend in the room like a warm blanket, and I spent most of the time in tears. I had never experienced such spiritual intimacy. I was praying for something; I didn't know what.

(Isaiah 55:6 NKJV)  Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

After about three months, His presence lifted, the urge to meet in the music room stopped, and the heavens became like brass. I could pray and feel nothing. Then our computer business dried completely up. We were out of work, burned through whatever savings we had and charged the bills on a credit card. Months went by and no amount of praying, giving, fasting, or advertising changed anything. 

The worst part was that I felt abandoned by the LORD. I had walked with Him pretty close over the last twenty years, fasting at times for thirty or forty days, and introducing others to Him when I could. Now at forty, He shut the door on me, left me unemployed, and wouldn't answer me. It was rough. I felt like Jesus must have felt on the cross when He said, "My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me?"

Finally, the week came when we couldn't pay the electric bill anymore and were planning to move out of our home and in with family, when I came into the music room and sat down on a bean bag in the corner. I was broken. I didn't bother to pray anymore. Like David above, I had prayed and wept until I had no more power to do so. I believe that was a Tuesday morning. I sat down on the bean bag mostly thinking of how I would miss our home, and immediately had a trance-like vision like I had read about in the Bible. Peter had a similar vision in (Acts 10:9-10), but I had never had one until that Tuesday morning.

I saw what looked like a giant movie screen open before me. I was still aware of the room and my surroundings, so it was unlike a dream, but more like a screen appeared in front of me. Then I watched myself climb into a boxing ring and begin lacing up the gloves. The camera view was from behind me, and it looked like I was alone at first, which was the way I felt at the time. Then the camera panned around to the front, and I saw the same prophet that had spoken to me over twenty-five years ago outside the ring in my corner. The LORD spoke through him again and said these words that I will never forget. He said:

"You are not alone, for I AM in your corner and I have prepared you for this day. Now get in there and fight!"

Then the vision closed, and the Holy Spirit rushed into the room as He had months before and covered me like a warm blanket. It put me in tears. I came out of the room and told Sylvia, "We are going to be OK. I don't know what's coming, but the LORD spoke to me." 

By that Friday, I was a pastor, and a friend stepped in and paid all of our bills for the month. It was a real pinch-yourself moment. 

Your lowest point is often at the edge of breakthrough. 

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me hold on through the hard times when it looks like all is lost and there is no more hope. I know You know the end from the beginning. Your eye is on the sparrow, and I know Your eyes are on me. I choose to trust You today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!