David again is in within killing range of Saul. Again, he is encouraged by those closest to him to kill Saul because obviously God had arranged for Saul’s death by allowing them to get so close.
David will not kill Saul and will not allow his men to do so. He speaks the line again as to how he will not kill the Lord’s anointed.
How did he know God’s will? The law of Moses did not list, “Do not touch the Lord’s anointed.” We have it in our Scriptures because David wrote it later into a song. How was he so confident of the Lord’s desire?
We know he was convicted for just cutting off a part of Saul’s robe. We know the Spirit was at work in him. We know he was a worshipper, praising and thanking God and knowing and loving God’s word.
In Ephesians 5, we’re told to find out was is pleasing to God and to understand His will. How do we do those things? We get to know Him. We can read the Bible with prayer, asking God to help us get to know Him, for God to reveal Himself to us. We can study the life of Christ as the visible image of God to get to know God better. We can also obey the command, “Be still, and know that I am God. (Ps. 46:10)”
Be still and know. Stop your striving and know Him as God. It’s not a passive thing. We don’t empty our minds like in Eastern religions. We are to know Him. We are to be still or silent and see His salvation (Ex. 14:14). We’re to know Him to see Him.
In our abiding in Christ, it’s our seeing Him before us. It’s our not taking matters into our own hands but letting Him work it out. We don’t need to prepare and plan for our future. We just need to know Him and sit back and allow Him to work out His salvation.
Can you resist taking matters into your own hands? Do you jump in to solve the problem, to make the plan?
Can you think to turn to God first instead of the handyman or your tool chest? Can you think to turn to God first instead of getting a snack when you are hungry?
Can you make a practice of going to Him first for each little thing? Then maybe when the big things come, you’ll know who your Savior is. Hint: it’s not you!