"The Life of David": 2 When God departs

Focus Passage: 1 Samuel 16:14-23

Human lives cannot exist as a vacuum. We are either filled with the Lord or filled with something else. People often think that if they push the Lord out of their life that they will be free. They resent the rules of faith and don’t want to belong to anyone. Sadly when we push God away, Satan often rushes in to fill the vacuum and rule over our lives and desires. He will take over our character and will guide our actions. Instead of freedom, we end up with bondage to a cruel master. Saul, the anointed of God chosen to lead God’s people Israel had rejected the Lord. As we will see in the text, he paid a high price for pushing the Lord out of his life. 

• The terrible price of rejecting God v.14. Rejecting the Lord had left a vacuum in Saul which Satan gladly filled. Gone were the guidance, spiritual gifts and power of the Lord. In their place had come depression, meanness and bouts of insanity. Satan is a mean master who brings only suffering and destruction and Saul was trapped in Satan’s power. He was a shell of his former self. 

• When the Spirit shines bright v.18. David’s reputation was already becoming known. His success in the areas of music and valor were taken as being signs that God was with him. While Saul’s life was in decline, David’s life was on an uphill track. His faith and relationship with the Lord were having an effect on his abilities and on people’s perception of him. 

• God’s presence drives away the demons v. 23. David’s faith filled his music so strongly that the demons struggled to be in his presence. The themes of the psalms resonated as David played the harp and sang. The room was filled with praise and trust in God which the demons could not tolerate. The music and strong faith of David drove away the demons when Saul was in his presence. 

Saul found relief when David and his music filled the room with the Spirit’s presence. The Lord was so strong in David that the demons found it hard to be near as he played. Filling our lives with God’s word and music or Christian friends gives Satan a smaller place to dwell and a smaller hold on our lives. Real freedom comes not from pushing God out, but inviting Him in. He is stronger than the cruel demon masters. He is kinder and gentler to His people and gives them qualities that attract people to them while the demons repel the people around them with fear. Find relief from the pressures of the world by inviting the Lord into your life. God’s presence and music will always drive Satan’s blues away.