1 Samuel 21:10

1 Samuel 21:10 says, And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.  David was still running out of fear of Saul, and he went to a king of the Philistines for help, while still wearing Goliath's sword.  As is many times the case with people in the Bible, we don't have a record of David seeking God's guidance nor really putting his faith in God.  Of course, it may have been because he didn't want to have to kill Saul, since he had been nothing but loyal to him.  David we to Achish, king of Gath and asked for his help.  As followers of Christ, our first step in times of trouble should be to go to Him for help.  Verse eleven adds, And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?  Achish's servants thought David was the king of Israel, and by God's appointment he really was, though he had yet to proclaim himself king.  They thought this because of the people singing about Saul killing his thousands and David killing his ten-thousands.   People may sing our praises more than those of people in leadership in the church today, but we should not allow this to make us to believe that we should be in their place, unless we know God is placing us there.  Even then, we need to make sure that His timing is right.  Verse twelve continues, And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.  David took these words to heart, which then made him really afraid of King Achish.  This was the same David who faced and defeated Goliath with a sling.  Though we shouldn't, we at times may act out of great faith in God and have a great victory through His power, and then later find ourselves afraid in another situation we face.  God will always give us the ultimate victory if we remain faithful to Him.  Verse thirteen states, And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.  Because of his fear, David began to act as though he was insane, going so far as to scribble on the gates and drool on his beard.  David may have faced a bear, a lion, and a giant and won by faith in God, but now he was acting on his own without God's leadership I believe.  As followers of Christ, we may have stood bravely in the face of opposition by faith and then suddenly find ourselves afraid because we have quit relying on our faith in God.  Verse fourteen adds, Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?  Instead of having the desired effect, Achish asked his servants if they could not see that David was mad.  Verse fifteen continues, Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?  Achish continued by asking them what need did he have for a madman in his house.  Matthew Henry says Achish did this so he could protect David without appearing to do so since David was now but a mad man.  There may be people in the world who want to help Christians in times of need today but are afraid of how it would be perceived by the friends and neighbors who see Christians as nothing but a threat.