I Samuel 24:4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.
Don’t you want the peace that comes from knowing that God is on your side? How does one know when God is on his side? Suppose there are two armies fighting one another. Both armies believe in God Jehovah, and both of them invoke the name of God for their cause. How does one know which side God is on? It is easy to claim God for whatever purposes we wish to accomplish in our lives.
In I Samuel 23, the Bible tells the story of how Saul had David in a corner. Saul was prosecuting a friend when he should have been defending against the enemy of Israel. The Bible says that it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah, and Saul said, “God hath delivered him into mine hand.” Had God delivered David into Saul’s hand? Was it God’s intent that Saul should kill David? Clearly not.
Even more interesting is that in the next chapter David had Saul backed into a cave, and Saul did not know that David was there. Notice what David’s men said to him. They said, “Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.” Where did God say that? He didn’t. Maybe they were referring to the words of Jonathan who acknowledged that David would be the next king. Maybe it was something else, but nowhere in the Bible record do we have God saying, “Hey, you can do whatever you want to Saul.”
Here are two men: Saul invoked God in order to do something that was wrong, and David’s men invoked God in order to urge David to do something that was wrong. What is the answer to this? God’s guidance will never conflict with God’s character. God gave this opportunity to David in order to test David, not in order to kill Saul.
Some opportunities should be regarded as a test of our character and not God’s approval of our wishes. God’s will means more than merely doing the right thing; it means doing the right thing in the right way at the right time. That requires patience, and, more specifically, it requires faith. God never gives the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. A man has no right to invoke God’s name when violating God’s character.
How do you know when God is on your side? You can know He is on your side when you are on His, when you submit to the character, the Word, and the will of God.