In 1 Samuel, King Saul is seen in hot pursuit of his son-in-law, David. The king had "three thousand men chosen from the whole of Israel" (v 3). And of all the caves, Saul unknowingly chose the one that David and his men were in to relieve himself. David's men said to him, Today is the day of which the Lord said to you, "I will deliver your enemy into your power, do what you like with him" (v 5 - a false statement). What was David's response?

He let himself "cut off the border of Saul's cloak" but was conscience-stricken after that, for to David, Saul was God's "anointed" (Vv 7, 11). Could he have killed Saul? Yes. Did he allow his men to kill Saul? No. Instead, he still gave Saul the honour as King of Israel (v 9). When David spoke to Saul, he was genuinely offering a way towards reconciliation between them. David saw the Lord as the judge between them in his closing remarks and viewed God as his vindicator. It so moved Saul that he "wept aloud" (v 17) and acknowledged that David is a "more upright man" (v 18), blessed him (v 20), and prophesied over him (v 21).

We, too, can be like David. Let us nurture and nourish our faith in God instead of being filled with rage and revenge when innocently condemned and persecuted. Let us utterly depend on God to deliver us.