In 2 Samuel 16:1-23 David will soon find himself in a situation in which there will be a civil war with his son in which neither his victory nor his defeat will be desirable.
What do you do when there is no plausible solution to the situation or circumstance you are in? Well, you can’t look out; you can’t look ahead;no, the only comfort you will find is when you look up.
We have David’s answer to this in psalm 61:1-2 where we read his words, “HEAR my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed, Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” David faces three things in this chapter that would break the spirit of any person, let alone one that is already down:
•Vs. 1-4 The rejection of a friend in whom you have been a blessing towards
•Vs. 5-14 The consistent torments of malcontent upon your forced departure due to personal failure
•Vs. 16-23 And a no-win situation with someone you love
Truly, at this stage of David’s life, he must have been feeling “when it rains, it pours,” and the best David can do is to avoid what one Greek philosopher said: “I have often regretted my words, but never have I regretted my silence, so David remained silent. You see, dear Christian, the Lord is using all of this to further develop David’s character. Someone once noted that “Christians are far more likely to be destroyed by praise than they are willing to be saved by criticism.”