David feared the Lord more than he feared his enemies!
Three times David, the man of action, stayed/withheld his hand.
David was being pursued by King Saul and he told Saul’s son Jonathan, ‘Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death’. 1 Sam 20:3 David was in danger for his very life, being hunted by a jealous king who wanted to kill him and abort God’s calling on his life to be the next ruler of Israel. Twice the Lord gave Saul into his hands, once in the cave 1 Sam 24 and then again in the camp 1 Sam 26. David had a good reason for refusing to harm Saul, ‘Don’t destroy him! Who can lay and all the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless’? 1 Sam 26:9 David recognised God’s calling on the life of Saul and refused to harm him. We need to heed this just as much today on the servants of God.
‘As surely as the Lord lives… The Lord Himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed’. 1 Sam 26:10
The other time when the now king David, refused to take things into his own hands occurred when he was once again fleeing for his life, from his own son, Absalom. A man called Shimei, a Benjamite from the tribe of Saul, ‘cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though ALL THE TROOPS AND SPECIAL GUARD WERE ON DAVID’S RIGHT AND LEFT(David and true servants and children of God, like Elisha, have UNSEEN PROTECTION).
It’s interesting that Shimei accuses David of bloodshed three times in verses 7, 8, the reason God refused to allow David to build HisTemple. Abishi wanted to kill Shimei there and then but David rebuked Him.
But the king said, ‘What do you and I have in common, … if he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David, who can ask, why do you do this’? … leave him alone; let him curse for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will see my distress and REPAY ME with good for the cursing I am receiving today’. 2 Sam 16:10
David refused to take the life of the man who was publicly abusing him, instead he suffered the abuse, even as king and LOOKED TO THE LORD FOR A BLESSING FROM IT. There may be times when we will suffer abuse and humiliation, but even in such situations we can ask the Lord to protect and vindicate us. Jesus asked the Father on the cross to forgive His abusers and not to hold it against them. Turning to God and not overreacting in difficult circumstances is not easy, but God may see and impart a blessing instead. Man doesn’t have the final say, God does.
May the Lord bless and keep you.