David Flees to the Philistines
27 Then David said [a]to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than [b]to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” 2 So David arose and crossed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s [c]widow. 4 Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 David [d]attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. 10 Now Achish said, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the [e]Negev of Judah and against the [f]Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the [g]Negev of the Kenites.” 11 David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘So has David done and so has been his practice all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’” 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”
Surely, David was tired of trouble, and tired of running for his life, as no doubt were the men around him. So they tried to outrun trouble, and traded one evil for another. While it may have seemed the lesser of two evils to have to raid foreign towns in order to secure a place among the Philistines, they still had to kill entire towns and lie about it.
“In this life, you will have trouble.” While Jesus said that to his followers, I think it’s a pretty universal truth. You cannot outrun trouble, you can’t move away from trouble. You’ll only end up exchanging one trouble for another.
Instead, trust in God through all your hardships, and see what He can do in your life when you surrender your life to Him. Only then can you stop looking over your shoulder in fear, wondering what trouble will pursue you next, only with His peace and love in your heart, giving you strength day by day.