He was in deep depression and anguish. Desperate to find peace and just a glimmer of hope, he fled for his life. His own father-in-law sought his life. And so, he ran. A handful of rebellious men followed after him, they too were looking for peace and hope.
The band of misfits found themselves at the tabernacle where the High Priest, not knowing that Saul was after him, gave him the old showbread to eat and then the sword of the giant he had slain months earlier. But when those pursuing him found out, the kind High Priest was murdered. He couldn’t go to anyone for fear that they too might end up dead.
I’m speaking, of course, of David. Once great in the eyes of the people, his father-inlaw, King Saul, had become jealous of his fame and popularity and now only wanted him dead and out of the way. Confused, scared, and forsaken, he turned to the One he knew could help him. He turned to God. All his life he had trusted God. He had no idea why this was happening to him, and he felt a little like God had let him down. But he remained faithful.
He penned his desperate thoughts in Psalm 22. To recite just a few of his thoughts from the first half of that chapter, he felt like God had forsaken him, that God was far away and refused to hear his groaning. His ancestors were saved and delivered by God but he felt he had been left out. “I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see me ridicule me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue him; let Him deliver him, since he delights in Him!’” (Psalm 22:6-).
David had two separate incidents when he could have taken the life of Saul, but he refused to do so, knowing that God had anointed Saul as king and so he would not touch what God had anointed. He fled as those who also were outcasts and fugitives from the system daily joined his ranks. But this was not the end for David as all you who are familiar with the story know.
Some of the language used in this Psalm seems to prophesy of another. Verse 1 starts out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” In verse 14 he said, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted within me.” Verse 16 says, “they pierced my hands and my feet.” And verse 18 says “they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” Sound familiar? They are echoed by none other than Jesus Christ when He was being crucified. Jesus spoke to God from the cross saying “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” The words of David talking about being poured out like water, bones being out of joint, and his heart like wax all describe part of how it must have felt to be crucified. They did pierce the hands and feet of Jesus, nailing Him to that rugged cross. And they did divide his clothes, except for His seamless robe which they gambled for.
It seemed to be the end for David, and it seemed to be the end for Jesus as well. But it wasn’t, not for either of them. The last half of Psalm 22 finds the forsaken David encouragingly seeking the Lord. He knew that God would not let him down. Jesus, after dying on the cross, rose again on the third day, thus becoming the Victor over death, hell and the grave. The devil, who had tried to get Him to take the easy way out by worshipping him instead of God, lost.
David later became king of those who pursued and Jesus became the Savior of the world. For both of them, and for many others, the end was only the beginning. And it is for us too.
This very moment there are many who feel that it is the end. There is no answer. The debts keep piling up and there seems to be no way out. A husband or wife may be ready to walk out the door, leaving you holding the whole mess. Children whom you love very dearly may be rebelling, stealing from you, harassing you, even hating you, and you don’t know what to do. Sickness or disease may be threatening your life. Perhaps you’ve done the wrong things and have wound up in jail or prison but now you see your mistakes and want to make it right but there seems to be no way. Maybe you had a good thing going and you had the world by the tail, but now, due to circumstances beyond your control you face total obliteration.
You may feel desperate, alone, scared, depressed, forsaken, misunderstood, and lost. But wait, you can turn to God. In the middle of David’s anguish, he wrote in verse 22, “I will declare Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.” In other words, even in the middle of my trouble, I will trust in you and praise you. David held on despite all the bad that happened to him, and in the end, it became the beginning.
When we have gone as far as we can go – When we have hit rock bottom and there’s nowhere else to turn – When it seems our very lives will end, despite what happens, regardless the outcome, if we will hold tightly to our faith in the Lord, He will not let us down. He will provide a way of escape. Your end can and will become your beginning – because Jesus Christ is always the beginning of great and good things. Don’t fear, you’re just getting started.