Saturday, July 09, 2005
How to Push Back the Gloom of Your Despair
Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. Some of Saul’s servants suggested a remedy. . . . “Let us find a good musician to play the harp for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering you. The harp music will quiet you, and you will soon be well again.” (1 Samuel 16:14-16, NLT)
David never set out to become the King’s personal musician. He was a loner out in the hills of a nomad land, writing music and being the artsy-fartsy type. David wasn’t trying to become the next pop star, even though he played the harp like Muddy Waters played the blues. David’s music emerged with emotion, and he was into music for what he got out of it. He wasn’t looking for a recording contract from King Saul Records, but that’s what he got.
When King Saul needed soul music to chase away his blues, they cleaned David up and wiped sheep muck from his sandals. Then they ushered him into the king’s bedroom where King Saul was lolling on the bed like Virginia Woolf, melancholic and defeated. David pushed his shaggy hair from his eyes and began to play his harp.
Then one day, as David was playing, King Saul tapped his spear on the floor, out of beat with the harp, but in beat with Simon Cowell meanness. And David strummed the harp and watched King Saul out of the corner of his eyes, realizing something was up. He could see it coming. He’d ducked before. Then Saul “suddenly hurled (the spear) at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David jumped aside and escaped” (1 Samuel 18:11). And the spear pierced the drywall and stuck there, vibrating along with the strings of the harp that David kicked over on his way out.
Now if this ended the story, then we’d pat David on the back and tell him well done. “You tried. Leave the guy alone. He’s nuts,” we’d say. But a strange thing happened. Scripture says, “This happened another time, too . . .” (v11). David subjected himself repeatedly to King Saul’s crazy fits of javelin throwing. Maybe he scooted his harp back ten feet and wedged the bedroom door open for quick getaways. Who knows?
But the one thing to learn from this shepherd boy turned Pop King Idol is the power of music. He was willing to go into Saul’s shadows to do battle with the spirits, because he knew the authority of music when directed to God. “Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him” (1 Samuel 16:23).
The Hebrew word translated “refreshed” means “to be wide, to be spacious, to give space so as to bring relief.” David was pushing back the darkness with music. And we should all be aware of how worship offers space to breathe. It lifts the spirit and pushes back the gloom of despair. “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul” (Psalm 108:1).
Before you give up, try singing. Give yourself some room to breathe.
Prayer – Lord, I worship you and adore You. I will begin my mornings with praise on my lips and in my ears. You know the darkness that I battle. You know where I leak meanness, so I worship You. Please push back my darkness. Amen.
------------------------------------------
Something New. Read one of Robert's novels in progress. It's a sweet and tender love story that appeals to the romantic in all of us. Click the link: http://ablogofregrets.blogspot.com/
© 2007 by Robert Stofel
1 Comments:
Thanks so much for your writing, it keeps the word of God real. Continue to let the Lord use you.
In Him,
Robert/Marilyn
In Him,
Robert/Marilyn
