Pressure

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We’re continuing our series on the life of David. David had been anointed as the next king of Israel, but King Saul was still on the throne, and he had become so jealous of David’s popularity that David had to flee for his life into the desert, where he spent about five years hiding out in caves and dodging Saul. So today, finally, we are nearing the end of David’s time in the desert. He’s been through a lot. He probably feels like he’s aged twenty years in the five years he’s been out there. I cannot imagine the pressure he’s been under. But in this last scene from the desert, David experiences a pressure unlike than anything he’s ever felt before.

So today I want to talk about pressure. We all know what pressure feels like, right? When you don’t have enough time, or you don’t have enough money. When everybody wants something from you and you can’t possibly please them all, or when people are angry with you for disappointing them. Sometimes we call it “stress.” And it’s okay to have a little bit of stress in your life—in fact, that’s healthy. But sometimes it goes way beyond healthy.

Let me show you something. This is the vise that I have mounted to my workbench in my garage workshop. It’s really helpful for holding things in place while I work on them. But I want you to imagine something: picture your head in that vise. Got that image? Now, picture somebody slowly tightening the vise on your head. Can you feel the cold steel pressing in on your skull? Isn’t that lovely thought? How does it feel? Painful…dangerous…maybe claustrophobic? Terrifying? That’s what pressure feels like. For some of you, that’s what life feels like right now. If not, it’s probably coming.

So as we look at this pressurized scene from the life of David, here’s the question before us: How do you walk through life’s pressure without being crushed by it?

1 Samuel chapter 30. And I’m going to break the message into three points today. Here’s the first one: Experiencing Pressure. Look with me at 1 Samuel 30, starting in verse 1:

1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Let me pause for a moment. Remember, David has 600 men accompanying him—kind of a ragtag bunch of misfits and warriors. One part of the story we skipped is that David had gotten so desperate in his efforts to avoid Saul, that he had actually gone to the Philistines—Israel’s arch enemy!—and he and his men had volunteered to fight for them! And they actually joined the Philistines in several of their battles. They never fought against Israel; they fought against other enemy nations. But eventually the Philistines started suspecting that they couldn’t trust David. So they sent him and his men back home to the place they were living at the time, where their families were anxiously waiting for them, which was this place called Ziklag. Everybody with me? So they make the 60-mile trek back to Ziklag, and it says they arrived on the third day—so they covered about 20 miles per day. And they were not prepared for what they saw when they got there—keep reading… Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. Let me pause again. Throughout the Bible, God never condones polygamy. God never says,

“I want you to have multiple wives.” In fact, from the beginning, God said, “Marriage is one man and one woman in a lifelong covenant relationship.” But polygamy was very common in the ancient world, and even the Israelite kings slipped into it. Remember, David wasn’t perfect. So they get back; their wives and children are just gone. Verse 6—6a David was greatly distressed because (listen to this…) the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters.

You want to talk about pressure? His family is gone; his children are gone. And as if that’s not enough, his own people turn against him. Because when things go wrong, guess who gets blamed first? The leader. They have to direct their frustration somewhere. And you can kind of understand their anger! David has led them on this crazy adventure to join with the Philistines, so they’ve left their families behind, and now their families are gone—and they have no idea if their wives and children are dead or alive. Of course they’re worked up! They’re bitter in spirit; they talk about stoning David. And it says “David was greatly distressed.” That’s an understatement. The vise is tightening around his head.

A friend of mine recently started a master’s program. It was a very high-tech master’s degree; it was a very expensive master’s degree. But her parents agreed to pay for it, because she wanted to do it, and it seemed like it would open lots of career doors. All her friends were excited for her. So she started her first semester, and about halfway through, she realized she hated it. Not just that it was hard; she didn’t enjoy it, at all. And she felt the pressure tighten. But she wasn’t a quitter, so she kept studying; she reached out to some of her professors for help. But as she got toward the end of that first semester, it was clear: this was the wrong path for her. And it was a terrible realization—because she had told everyone she was doing this; everyone was so impressed; lots of money had already been poured into it. And all that pressure felt like a vise on her head.

What do you do when you feel like that? “Greatly distressed.” I think about what David could have done. He could have angrily lashed out and defended himself. That would have been understandable. He could have taken a couple of wineskins full of wine into his tent, and just drown his troubles in alcohol. He could have taken his own life, just to escape the mental anguish he was experiencing.

How do you handle the pressure? When things really get stressful, what do you do to relieve the stress? And whatever you do, does it make things better in the long run, or does it just add to the stress? Whatever you do to relieve the pressure, does it include God, or does it exclude God?

How do you walk through life’s pressure without being crushed by it?

Point number two: Responding to Pressure. I notice three things in David’s response. First, Find strength in God. Pick up the story midway through verse 6: But David found strength in the Lord his God. This says so much about David’s heart. Remember when we were talking about David’s friendship with Jonathan, and there was a moment when David was running for his life, and Jonathan secretly came to him, and 1 Samuel 23:6 says Jonathan helped him find strength in God. Because when the pressure is high, we need friends to remind us where real strength comes from. The world says you find it deep inside yourself, but a wise friend knows better. A wise friend points you upward and helps you find strength in God. So now, here’s David without Jonathan—in fact, he doesn’t seem to have a friend in the world right now—but he hasn’t forgotten where strength comes from. So with the pressure all around him, he turns to the Lord his God. His God.

David wrote a lot of his Psalms during this fugitive period of his life. Did you know that? A lot of the Psalms that talk about danger and enemies come from these desert years. Look what he wrote in Psalm 56, starting in verse 3:

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

That’s David, finding his strength in God. “When I’m afraid…” and then look two lines down… “I trust in God and I’m not afraid.”

Did you notice, when they first realized their families were missing, it says all of these men, including David, wept aloud until they had no strength to weep. No strength left! But now David is finding strength, and he’s finding it in God.

How do you do that? You do it through prayer. You do it through worship. David wrote these words of worship, and when we sing words like this, it strengthens us. If you think the singing in church is just a prelude to the sermon, you’re missing it. Worship turns our eyes upwards and reminds us who God is. Look at that last line in Psalm 56:4—worship reminds us that mere mortals can’t do anything to you, because God is bigger. At the beginning of verse 4, David says, in God, whose word I praise. You find strength in God through his Word—through Scripture. If you choose to carve out time in your day to spend time in the Word of God, you will be building inner strength.

I love that quote, “In times of peace, prepare for war.” So even if things are relatively peaceful—there’s not much pressure in your life right now—choose to build into your life Scripture and prayer and worship. Dig your well deep, so when the pressure comes, you’ll be able to draw on that well and find your strength in God.

Secondly, David teaches us to Seek direction from God. Look at verses 7 and 8: 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

So David asks for the Ephod, which was a garment worn by the High Priest of Israel. And we don’t know exactly how the Israelites used the ephod to discern God’s will, here’s the important thing—verse 8: David inquired of the Lord. David desperately needed to know, in the midst of this overwhelming pressure, what did God want him to do?

You know what’s really ironic? Right around this same time, King Saul was also feeling some pressure. Because the Philistines were about to attack Israel, and Saul was terrified, and he wanted to know what to do. So at the same time David was having this crisis moment, King Saul having his own crisis moment. So you know what Saul said? “Find me a medium. A sorceress. A witch.” I’m not making this up—you can read about it in chapter 28—two chapters earlier. Saul had technically expelled all the sorceresses from Israel. But he knew they were around. So he found one, and he went to her, and they had a séance to try to call up the departed spirit of Samuel the Prophet, and get some advice from Samuel. It’s a weird, dark scene.

But do you see the contrast? In a moment of high pressure, Saul goes to a witch; David goes to the Lord.

What about you? When the stress is cranked up, and you’re truly desperate for guidance, where do you turn?

So David seeks direction from God, and God makes it clear that, yes, David should go after the people who’ve kidnapped these families, and rescue them.

And then third, David teaches us to Choose obedience to God. Pick up the story in verse 9: 9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.

11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.

13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”

He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”

15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”

He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”

16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah.

This is such an interesting scene. David obeys the voice of God and goes out in pursuit of the Amalekites. But he doesn’t know exactly where they are. He knows God wants him to go, but he doesn’t know where to go. Ever been there? Happens to me all the time. A few years ago, I knew God wanted The Chapel involved with our neighbors in Paterson. That was so clear. But I didn’t know what that meant. So…I could have sat around and prayed for more clear guidance. But instead, I just decided to go—I started scheduling lunches and coffees with the few people I knew in Paterson, and walking the streets with them, and asking questions. And that led to meeting more people, and asking them questions, and asking how we could serve them. And all of that led to the creation of 12-Mile Bridge, and now hundreds of Chapel people engaged in serving in Paterson. But it started with just getting up and going, and God made it clear along the way.

So David and his men go out in obedience. And what happens? They “just happen” to meet this sick Egyptian guy in a field; and this is really important: they treat him with kindness and compassion. Which is exactly what the Hebrew law says you should do—treat foreigners with compassion. After they win his trust, they find out he’s a slave of the Amalekites—the very Amalekites who burned Ziklag and kidnapped all those people; he knows exactly where the raiding party went, and he leads David and his men directly to them. So just by going out in faith, and treating the people they meet with kindness, God provides the additional guidance they need. Wow.

Keep going in verse 17: 17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.” Can you imagine the terror of these women and children when they got kidnapped? Can you imagine their relief and joy when they got rescued? This is an incredible victory; incredibly happy ending to the story. And it never would have happened if David hadn’t found

strength in God, and sought direction from God, and if he hadn’t chosen to obey God, even though he didn’t know exactly where to go.

How can we walk through life’s pressure without being crushed by it? It’s all about turning to God—find strength in him, seek direction from him, choose to obey whatever guidance he’s given. And as you do that, here’s the added bonus: something will be happening inside you. Which leads to our last point…

Transformed through Pressure. The story takes an interesting turn here—look at verse 21…21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”

You can kind of understand their point, can’t you? They come to the 200 guys who stayed behind because they were too tired. And some of the guys who had risked their lives fighting look at these guys, and they say, “They don’t get any of the stuff we just fought for. They can take their wives and their kids, but there’s no way they share in the plunder they didn’t fight for.” That seems fair. But David has a different opinion—verse 23…

23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

This is godly leadership. Remember what the troublemakers had just said? “These guys aren’t getting any of the plunder that we recovered.” We did this. It’s ours! And David says in verse 23, “No, no, no—you can’t do that with what the Lord has given us.” David realizes this whole thing has God’s fingerprints all over it. The sick Egyptian they just happened to meet, who guided them. The defenseless Amalekites, partying it up in their camp. The fact that every single person kidnapped was still alive. David knows God’s grace when he sees it. Listen: he realizes God has been so generous to them, and in response, he acts generously toward others. Are you with me? He’s so overwhelmed by God’s generosity toward him, that he shows generosity to others. Those tired guys who stayed behind might not technically deserve a share, but neither did David and his fighting men deserve such an unlikely victory. It was all grace. Freely David had received; now he freely gives.

By responding to the pressure the way he did, we’re watching David being transformed into a man of grace.

You want to hear something amazing? That valley where the tired guys stayed behind was called The Valley of Besor. In Hebrew, besor can be translated “to announce good news.” Isn’t that crazy? “the Valley of announcing good news.” Somebody tell me the English translation of “good news”? Gospel. So think about it: these men who hadn’t helped win the victory nevertheless received the benefits and the blessings of the victory, and the place that happened was the Valley of Besor---the Valley of the Gospel. Is it not breathtaking how the Scriptures all connect together, and how they all point to Christ?

Because here’s the bigger story: descendant of David—the greater David—fought and won the ultimate battle. It wasn’t against the Amalekites, because our battle is not against flesh and blood; it

was against Satan, sin, and death. He won the battle by going to the cross in our place. We didn’t help him win that victory—in fact, he went to the cross all alone. But here’s the good news—here’s the gospel—we get to share in the riches of what he did. We don’t deserve it, but he shares it with us! When we acknowledge Jesus as our King, he graciously gives us forgiveness, and membership in his family, and the Holy Spirit, and the promise of eternal life.

Think about it this way: on the cross, Jesus faced the worst pressure anyone has ever faced. The cross was like a cosmic vise. Isaiah 53:5 says But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was (what does it say?...) ...he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Guys, Jesus was crushed in your place. And that means no matter how horrendous the pressure gets, when you’re with him, you will never be crushed. And the more you realize that, you’ll be able to handle any pressure that life brings.

I want to close by introducing you to someone very special in our Chapel family. This is Yen Brady, with her husband Jim and their two daughters—you might recognize them. In January 2023, there was a fire in their house. This is a picture from the outside, showing the room where the fire started. Here’s one of the rooms—you can see how the heat melted the blades of the ceiling fan, and you can see the smoke damage on the wall. The house was declared a total loss, so they started the long process of working with insurance to knock it down and rebuild. Obviously, the family had to find a temporary place to live, and they found a condo to rent in Florham Park. Can you imagine the stress?

About ten months later, this past December, they were still living in their temporary home, and Yen wasn’t feeling well. She had some tests, and she was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The pressure was cranked up to a whole other level. It was determined inoperable, so she immediately began chemotherapy treatments—here she is on the first day of chemo.

I spoke with Yen last week, and she said, “I realized I had two options. I could give in to the anger I was feeling and walk away from God. Or I could walk with my Father through this.” She chose the second option.

So here we are seven months later. She’s still getting treatments—you can see the effects of the chemo on her hair; they’re still in the temporary housing. But I’m telling you: she is being transformed through the pressure. She has become fearless in loving people and speaking about her faith. She offers to pray for people regularly. She invites people to church. In this picture she’s pointing to a building: that’s the practice facility for the New York Jets, in Florham Park. Several of the Jets players live in her condo complex, and she’s been getting to know some of the rookies. Recently, three Jets rookies came to Yen and Jim’s place for dinner. She told them, “I don’t want autographs; I’m not going to take any pictures. But you guys haven’t had a home-cooked meal in a while, so come on over.” So they came. She said, “I feel like their mom. I told them, ‘Look, if you don’t make the team, it’s okay—God has a plan for you.’” She encouraged them to read the Bible, and one of them decided to read through the whole Bible this year. She’s been sending them links to Chapel sermons.

Are you as amazed by this as I am? I don’t know if Yen is in this service, but can we just show her our support? (applause). So pray for Yen, and pray for her family. But don’t feel sorry for her, because God is using this immense pressure to make her a fierce woman of faith.

Guys, the pressure is coming. I don’t know what form it will take, but it’s coming. So when it comes, remember David. Remember Yen. But mostly, remember the one who was crushed in your place, so you will never be crushed.