Keep Going

Winston Churchill once famously said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going.” Life can be hard. We grow weary under burdens, problems and pressures. We can get discouraged. But there is no way out but through it; you just have to keep going. David understands that. The further he trudges from Jerusalem, the harder the journey gets. After he learns that Ahithophel, his closest friend and counselor, has betrayed him, it is like the breaking of a dam. New discouragements now rush into David’s life, assaulting his newly awakened faith on every side. But David trusts in God, and keeps going.

As he continues his flight from Jerusalem, he runs into an important minor character named Ziba. He is a former servant of Saul who stayed on with David after the regime change. We met Ziba back in chapter nine, when David was looking to show hesed love to Saul’s house. That is when David learned of Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth: a lame beggar, living in a refugee camp, hiding out from David. In extravagant love, David brought Mephibosheth into his home and adopted him as his son. David ate with him three times a day at the royal table, and gave him an enormous inheritance. David also charged Ziba and his family to work Mephibosheth’s land and oversee his property, so Ziba became caretaker and trust-fund manager.

Today, Ziba shows back up in the story with a wagon train of supplies. He brings fresh donkeys to ride and loads of food: two hundred loaves of bread, raisins, summer fruits, casks of wine. It must have been a welcome sight for the king’s weary men! But David hardly notices the goods; he only wants to know where Mephibosheth is. That’s when Ziba shakes his head, and offers a story of tragic betrayal. “He would not come with me, oh king. I left him in Jerusalem, trying on one of your crowns in the mirror. He told me, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’” The news sticks in David like a knife. First Absalom betrayed him, and then Ahithophel. But Mephibosheth’s abandonment leaves the deepest wound of all.

It is one of many occasions in 2 Samuel when someone brings David a story, and there is something odd about Ziba’s. Why would Mephibosheth think that Absalom’s take-over would make him king? Mephibosheth will later tell us that Ziba is lying. He asked Ziba to saddle his donkey so he could follow David into exile, but Ziba left his crippled master behind. He brought gifts, flattery, and a crafty lie to poison David against Mephibosheth. David should have questioned Ziba’s far-fetched tale. He should have recognized how self-serving it is. He should have waited to pass judgment. But Ziba’s lie comes when David is already weak, tired, and discouraged. So he believes it. Believing this enemy’s lie increases his pain. We see just how hurt David is by this rash, emotional decision to give all that is Mephibosheth’s to Ziba. Just like Ziba drew it up.

We have an even craftier enemy than Ziba. Satan is the father of lies. He watches us closely and waits patiently for his opportunity. Then, when we are at our weariest on the march of faith, he whispers well-crafted lies that things are worse than they really are. He seeks to poison us against God, to isolate us from the people who love us, and to utterly break our spirits. Believing the enemy’s lies make hard situations far worse. It is a daily task to fend off his deceptions and discouragements with the truth of God’s Word. Heavy-hearted, David slogs forward. When you’re going through hell, keep going.

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church