“Some Stings Are Worse Than Others!” 1 Samuel 18: 1-14 Key verse(s): 11-12: “Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.”
Chuck Swindoll tell the story of a man who backed his bright, shiny new Cadillac out of the driveway and headed for the freeway on his daily commute to work downtown. He was busily shaving himself as he drove--a normal operation for him. I suppose he had his radio on, and he was listening to the news and traffic reports as he made his way to his office. Witnesses say that suddenly he reached up behind his neck and slumped over the wheel. The car swerved and went into a culvert, and he was killed. His car was completely demolished.
An autopsy was ordered. Ad they began to put together the details, a keen-thinking physician noticed a small pinprick behind the man’s ear where a wasp had probably flown from behind the seat, or some part of the car, and had stung him, temporarily paralyzing a particular area of the nerve and blinding him with pain. He slumped over the wheel, lost control of the car, and died. Normally a grown man with normal strength can just swat away a little wasp with no problem. But when that wasp struck its mark, it led to a fatal crash. (Swidoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes, pg. 180)
When a loved one becomes an enemy, just swatting away at the problem will seldom attain the results so necessary for the restoration of that relationship. A loved one become an enemy may be an enemy whose sting can cause long-lasting, even fatal harm to a relationship. David knew this well. Saul had taken David in as his own son. He ate at the king’s table and shared in the relationship of Saul’s family. Jealousy, however, had caused Saul’s love to turn into a hatred for David almost overnight. Saul craved fame and glory and when he saw David garnering more than him, he turned on David and tried to kill him. David had a choice. He could defend himself against these attacks and possibly make Saul’s hurts even deeper or he could flee the relationship altogether in hopes that time and separation would
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