The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
1 Samuel 24:4-7 (NLT)
Ever been ready to make a decision and have that nagging feeling in your gut that you should reconsider? Or you heard a voice in the back of your mind warning you to rethink things (the voice might even sound like your mom). Maybe it was before you took out that big loan for the car you really couldn’t afford. Maybe it was before you said yes to a second date. Or maybe it was during that business partnership you’d been working on for months. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but there was just something that didn’t feel right.
When you felt that tug, what did you do? Did you listen or did you chalk it up to the late-night pizza you ate and plow ahead? In Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets, author Andy Stanley identifies five questions we should ask ourselves when making decisions. One of those questions he calls the ‘Conscience Question’ and it’s this: “Is there a tension that needs my attention?”
While we don’t want to live by gut feelings and second guesses, there is value in paying attention to those feelings.
David had been anointed to become the next king of Israel (see 1 Samuel 16). The only problem was that there was a current king of Israel named Saul and he wasn’t interested in giving up the throne. In fact, he was trying to eliminate the competition by killing David. He tried multiple times and had failed. Then God gave David a chance to turn the tables and take the throne. David and his small army of mercenaries were hiding in a cave from Saul and his army. As fortune would have it, while Saul was looking for David, he felt nature's call. So, he went into a cave to relieve himself (can you believe this is in the Bible?) And – you guessed it – it was the same cave David was hiding in.
As Saul began to do his business in the cave, David’s men saw a golden opportunity. It seemed like God had served Saul up to them on a silver platter. David could take him out and take the throne. And David may have thought about it. But when he did, there was a voice telling him not to do it, because if he did, he would be messing with the guy who God had currently chosen as Israel’s king. So David was “conscious-stricken” for what he was thinking and told his men he could never do what seemed so easy and so right. David’s gut check saved Saul’s life, and it preserved David’s integrity.
So what about you? How do you respond when making a big decision? What do you do with the tension? Could God be using the tension to get your attention?
Are you trying to make a decision in your life right now? Is there a tension that requires your attention?