A Sensitive Heart
And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.
~ 1 Samuel 24:4-5
David had been anointed to be the next king by the famous prophet Samuel, but he found himself on the run instead of in the palace.
King Saul had disobeyed God. His time as king was limited, but he was in the place of power and God’s man David seemed like the loser.
Suddenly, circumstances seemed to change. Saul was in a vulnerable position and unaware that David was in the prime position to kill him. Everyone wanted David to kill Saul, but he wouldn’t.
Instead, he decided to do something small. Something seemingly insignificant. He snuck up next to Saul, stealth like, and cut off a part of Saul’s robe. He didn’t kill him. He didn’t hurt him. He cut off a piece of his robe and immediately David’s heart smote him. He felt guilty and convicted over what he had done. He had shown disrespect to the King.
Seems crazy given Saul’s disobedience and desire to kill David, but that didn’t matter to David. David loved God and had a sensitive heart to God and His Word.
Do you have a sensitive heart toward sin? Many allow their hearts to grow cold toward sin and begin to rationalize or excuse sin. They develop an apathetic attitude towards God and begin to entertain temptation.
May God give us the same sensitive heart David had toward sin. Where even “small sins” bother our conscience and drive us to seek forgiveness.