11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. — 1 Samuel 1:11-12 NIV
No Warning Shots
I have to admit I have found myself not knowing how to handle a crisis in my personal life many times. The reality is who can be prepared, who can be ready, for an all of the sudden type of crisis? In a maximum-security prison yard, there are signs that read “No Warning Shots”. And that’s how crisis in life happens. There are NO WARNING SHOTS! It just happens and the next thing you know it is affecting every area of your life or at least that’s how it feels most of the time.
Being Pressed Down
In 2 Samuel 1:1-12, David is about to get some bad news delivered to his doorstep at Ziklag. Ziklag literally means “pressed down”—it is a place where chaos has come to visit and rather than leaning further into God, we walk away from God and try our own devices and seek out a refuge from the storm apart from God. That’s usually what happens to us. Think about the last time you were in a crisis, in a dire situation. Were you calm, did you stay cooler than a polar bear’s toenail? Of course not! Most of us stand in unbelief of bad news delivered. The death of a family member dear to us, a bad doctor’s report our close friend just received—these are moments that test us. And that moment intensifies when we are the target, when we are going through the mud of life.
How David Responded
We find David responding in three different ways. He mourned, he wept, and he fasted.
The first two I find that most people can get with that. The mourning and the weeping. It’s what makes us human. Our emotions tend to go all over the place when we receive bad news. Our anxiety reaches heights that seem to be out of control, our tear ducts open immediately and there is a relief that takes place as we further go into mourning and weeping. For some reason that tends to calm us a bit down. God’s design is incredible.
But the third part is the part that I have struggled with the most out here. And I don’t think I’m by myself on this one. Fasting! Say that word in any Bible study setting and that will produce more crickets than the night. Especially after a long-winded Bible teacher. But David fasted. David set the standard on leadership for his time in Israel. Notice what the Bible records in 1 Samuel 1:12:
They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
They followed David’s lead. Perhaps you are in a leadership role yourself right this moment. Now is not the time to crawl under your safety blanket, now is the time to show those who are following you that what you have been teaching all along really works. There is something special that happens when we turn to God, to Jesus, in our crisis.
Listen, leadership isn’t something to take lightly. There are thousands of “martial arts” dojo’s out there that hand out black belts like M&M’s. Attend their course and within 3 months you too can become a black belter. Unfortunately, the church has implemented that same concept in Christian leadership roles.
David was a real leader, a man, a warrior—and a warrior that not only wept but fasted, sought hard after God’s heart, and got it. See 1 Samuel 13:14.
Listening to God
My life was in danger when I repented and turned to Him. There were many days and nights when fear tried to creep in. My emotions were all over the place. Fear of how I would die and fear of allowing the old man out, the old me. 1 & 2 Samuel became my favorite books in the Bible because they taught me about myself and what God wanted to do with my life. It initiated a curiosity within to find out what fasting was all about. I didn’t have Google, or anything to rely on or do research with—it was prayer and fasting that led the way for me.
Fasting unlocked what I couldn’t. I could see clearly, I could hear more closely, the gentle sound of God’s roar in my life. Everything in life is about simple steps, small changes in our lives can cause huge outcomes.
So the next time (and trust me there will be a next time) crisis comes knocking at your door, try doing what David did—go ahead and mourn, go ahead and weep, and padlock your kitchen and ask God: What do You want me to learn from this, Lord?
I promise you that you will be left in awe of what you will discover in a time of fasting and prayer.
For even more from Casey Diaz check out his book The Shot Caller
A Latino Gangbanger’s Miraculous Escape from a Life of Violence to a New Life in Christ
An abusive, impoverished family life propelled Casey at only eleven years of age into the Rockwood Street Locos gang.
At just sixteen, Casey was sentenced to more than twelve years in solitary confinement in California’s toughest prison as one of the state’s most violent offenders.
Yet, when a determined elderly woman paid Casey a visit, a whole new world of possibilities began to unfold. Casey scoffed as she quietly insisted God was going to use him. What happened next can only be described as a miracle.
A visceral insider’s look at the violent world of gangs and prison life, The Shot Caller is a remarkable demonstration of God’s reckless, unending grace and His desire to reach even the worst of sinners—no matter where they are.
