When You Are in a Low Valley in Life

I Samuel 21:1-15

Sermon by Pastor Benjamin Chen

Pastor Benjamin Chen shared with the 1.5 Generation Congregation at EFCI on the topic of “When You Are in a Low Valley in Life” from I Samuel 21:1-15. Pastor Benjamin reminded us that in our deep valley of life, God sends unexpected help to walk with us through the struggles. 

Background

David became the hero of Israeli after killing Goliath. Shortly after this heroic act, Saul started to see David as a threat to his throne and Saul wanted to kill him. Things in life can happen very quickly, just like how David instantly turned from being a hero to a refugee. In the same way, our lives can be turned around due to illnesses, accidents, or highly emotionally charged events. However, in the midst of these troubles, God is always with us and He sends unexpected help when we need it.

God Sends Unexpected Help #1: By Breaking the Rule

The first place David fled to was Nob where he received the consecrated bread, weapons and shelter from a priest called Ahimelech. According to the law in Old Testament, the consecrated bread is reserved for the priest and his family. A thousand years later, Jesus agreed with Ahimelech and commented, “I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice.” By no means are we encouraged to break rules, but the moral of the story is that God is willing to go out of His way, even to break some “rules” to show His love for us.

God Sends Unexpected Help #2: By Using our Enemy

The second place David fled to was Gath, a part of the Philistine’s country. King Achish, referred David as the king of Israel, and said “Saul his struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousand.” The irony is that no one knows God anointed David as the king of Israel beside Samuel and David himself. God used David’s enemy to encourage him that he would later become the king of Israel.

Although it seemed like David kept lying to everyone he met: he lied to the priest for food; and lied to King Achish to get shelter. David may not be the moral model that we can follow, but this showed that he was an actual human, just like us. He has struggles, fears, and sins, but the bible described him as “a man after God’s Own Heart”, because throughout all the low valleys of his life, his relationship with God never changed. Just like David, we may not do everything right in times of struggles but we need to hold on to God and believe that he will deliver us through all our troubles.

In our deep valleys of life, God sends unexpected help, telling us that He is here walking through our struggles with us. 

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