“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.” Psalms 34:4-7 NLT
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin recorded that song in 1999. According to Bible Scholars, Psalm 34 is a psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of King Achish, who sent him away.
If there is one thing we have to admit about David, shepherd to hero to criminal to King, he led a very interesting life for the 70 years he lived. David lived the crazy life in ancient days! The rollercoaster ride from obscurity to oligarchy, then crashing back down to some serious dysfunctional family problems – what a journey. He had seen all facets of humanity.
David was a scrapper – self-willed, determined, persistent and completely authentic in his missteps and mistakes. In this psalm, David centers himself by looking up, praying to God when he was trapped, cornered, and this time he runs to an enemy king, King Achish, to escape King Saul. But first he goes to Ahimelech the priest and lies to him, saying he’s on a secret mission for Saul.
David and his men are desperately hungry and defenseless. David begs the priest for a weapon, anything will do. Interestingly enough the only weapon was the famous Giant’s sword that David used to decapitate Goliath! Read it for yourself in 1 Samuel 21. David takes off and heads to Gath (the land of the giant warriors) and tries to seek protection with an enemy king, King Achish of Gath, but as David is making his pitch to Achish, he feels that something is off and decides to pretend that he’s mental, crazy, out of his mind! So he starts scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. Achish buys the ruse, saying, “Must you bring me a madman? We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?” What a crack-up! David and his men escape with their lives.
It is in this wild, absurdity of life on the run that David writes about – God freeing him, rescuing him, saving him from all the calamities that life can bring. It is yet another HONEST Psalm David brings. As we read it, it sounds so determined, so encouraging, so hopeful. Remember, it was written after experiencing pure CHAOS.
This always comforts me. Knowing that these words were not written by a monk, in peaceful bliss of seclusion, surrounded by silence and mountaintop beauty. No, it was written in the most insane moments of how crazy life can get! Is your life crazy right now? Do you feel like you need to feign insanity to escape a really bad situation, a relationship, a job, a debt, an illness? David gets it. God gets YOU and me. Cry out in desperation like David did. Pray, and God will listen and come to your rescue! Let Jesus, THE Angel of the Lord, guard you with peace that passes our comprehension. Shalom Shalom.
Prayer
Dad,
I’m the middle of crazy and chaos, you are here. When all that surrounds me seems to close in, suffocating my perceptions and ability to feel safe and be at peace, you bring your presence. Let my face be radiant with Joy as David wrote. And, let there be no shadows of shame on my face because of your brilliant grace that shines on me.