Something Is Not Right

1 Samuel 21: 1 – 15

Something is not right

21 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?” 2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.” 4 And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.” 5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day.” 6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul. 8 And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” 9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.” 10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 12 Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

We often use the expression "something feels off" to explain that nagging feeling in the gut we get when anxiety over life creeps in. Have you ever had this feeling? You can’t shake the feeling that something is not right but you cannot put your finger on the answer.

No matter what situation you face it seems that the pattern of discomfort is the same.

Before you come to that conclusion which is after the fact of your uneasiness, is there anything you could have done to deal with this unique discernment?

Now that I’ve lived out my confusion many times I have five questions that made dealing with this weird feeling a bit easier:

1. What is the real cause of my uneasiness?

Identify the players in your current uncomfortable situation. What things are strange? You can make a mental note but if you have time go aside and list what conditions seem out of place.

2. How does [person, place, or thing] make me feel?

In the expression “Something feels off,” we tend to focus on the "something," i.e. how can that person, place, or thing act differently? But this is about how you feel. Things will always occur externally, but ultimately you create how you feel internally.

Usually something external causes your discernment which is internal to feel out of whack. What different things or conditions do you notice that are different or out of place?

3. What are my choices?

You are NEVER stuck. You ALWAYS have a choice. This involves thinking of your alternative methods that you can make to avoid being involved in something you are not comfortable with.

In the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10 the apostle Paul teaches us that we have a way out of difficult situations, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God Is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”