The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/1_samuel/22.htm

After David played mad in Gath, he went into hiding into the Cave of Adullam, and 400 members of his “father’s house” heard about it and came to help David. Scripture doesn’t say who they were; David was from the tribe of Judah, so it was likely members of Jesse’s family, possibly members of Obed’s family, and maybe even some members of Boaz’s family. But David didn’t stay there because a prophet named Gad told him to go back to Judah.

Saul is sinking even deeper with his mental illness. He is now accusing members of his own army of conspiring against him. And when he says this, Doeg, who saw David with the priests when he obtained the bread and Goliath’s sword, told Saul that he had seen David there.

So Saul called for all the priests, and accused them of conspiring against him by aiding David. And show how rational they were compared to Saul, they were surprised by this and asked who was more faithful to Saul than David. And it was true, David had done nothing against Saul; he was Saul’s son-in-law, he fought Saul’s battles, he did Saul’s bidding, and he even played music for Saul when he was having a “distress spirit”, or as I perceive, a bout of depression.

But that didn’t phase Saul at all, and Saul had all of the priests killed. But the son of one of the priests was able to escape and went to David, telling him what Saul had done.

Forget the literal words here in scripture and think about what is going on…because Saul has drifted from God, his mental health has taken a toll and he literally has became a madman. It’s actually very sad because Saul had the makings of being a great king had he stayed faithful to God, listening to him, praying and asking advice, and following what God told him rather than following his own desires. And the same is true for us in our own lives. Many people with mental illness have been cured by finding Jesus. A renown psychiatrist, Dr. Timothy Jennings, MD, has studied this quite deeply, and has written a book called “The God Shaped Brain” in which he cites examples of people suffering from mental illness that have been cured.

One story, that I remember, was a teen-aged girl, who was depressed and suicidal, and her parents were taking her for treatment. After working with her considerably, he was finally able to get her to confess that she had had sex, but she had grew up in a religion that, unlike Jesus, taught a God who was an angry tyrant who punished sinners, and she was convinced that her one mistake, having sexual intercourse outside of marriage, had doomed her to an eternity in hell, and that led to her depression and thoughts of suicide. He was able too tell her about the real God, the loving and merciful God, who was ready to forgive her of her past if she simply confessed and repented. And after learning of the real God and turning back to him, her depression ended.

Mental illness is not and end. If it is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, some medications may help, but if it is caused simply by an incorrect thought process, turning to God is a good first step to recovery. “The God Shaped Brain” is available in hard copy through books stores and also in audio book form.

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/psalms/57.htm
https://biblehub.com/nkjv/psalms/142.htm

David wrote Psalm 57 and 142 when he was in the Cave of Adullam, both psalms a prayer to God asking for His protection from David’s enemies.

And there you see the different between Saul and David; when David faces trouble, he turns to God for help from his enemies, when Saul faces trouble, he kills his.

And think of all the senseless killings to day because people take care of their own problems rather than turning to God, or with the mentally ill who have a great chance for recovery if they would just be pointed back to God. That said, I have great admiration for street ministries who are working with the homeless and with alcoholic and addicts trying to get them back on the path of life.

As Christians, we all should be disciples and examples to others.