Though David, a soldier in the Israelite army, had done nothing wrong, jealous King Saul was on an obsessive hunt for his life. In desperation, he fled to the neighboring kingdom of Gath in Philistia—a kingdom that, not long before, had tried to destroy his own in a bloody war. When the Philistine king Achish and his servants heard exactly who it was that had taken refuge in his fortress, they seized David and debated over what to do with him. “Isn’t this the man of whom they sing, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” the king’s advisers whispered.
In that dark time of uncertainty, fear, and hopelessness, David penned these words:
In God, whose word I praise,
In the LORD, whose word I praise,
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
(Psalm 56:10-11)
David didn’t have much—a loaf of bread and a sword were all he could find after his early-morning escape from Israel—but he did have the Word of God in his heart. And God’s Word was more than enough. Though David was in enemy territory trying to hide from a murderous king, he found hope in the unshakeable truth found in Scripture: God is mighty to save. What had David to fear from another man?
With that hope strong in his heart, David praised the word of the Lord in song. He thanked the Lord with his words and deeds. God was his deliverer! And His Word would not fail. David’s life was spared that day.
(See 1 Samuel 21 for the full story!)
Jeni, one of our longtime partners who recently came in to share her story with us (see this video for the full interview), told us that “the Bible is amazing; it’s a treasure trove just waiting to be mined.” Isn’t this such a precious truth? In good times and bad, how thankful we are to have the Bible—God’s message of hope—in a language we understand!
Friend, we know that you desire to fulfill Jesus’ prediction in Matthew 24:14 that the “Gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” And in order for every tribe, tongue, and nation to have a chance to hear and respond to that Gospel of the Kingdom, they need to hear it in their heart language. Will you consider making God’s audible Word available to more communities all over the world?
