Back to Gath | Summer In The Psalms | Noah Lowe

Man, what a beautiful, beautiful Sunday morning. Amen. Amen. Well, hey, can I let you guys into my life really quick? Just like give you peel back a layer of my life right now?

Is that cool? Okay. So right now I'm in this season of life that I love. I love it. It's chaotic.

I'm not sleeping a whole lot.

It's bittersweet. But I'm in the newborn season. Come on, any parents in here? Come on, any parents? Any grandparents?

I'm in that newborn season. We got a seven week old at home right now. We have a picture of him. His name's Soren. Come on.

Isn't he the cutest thing? Oh, man, he looks just like my wife. Praise God. Praise God. But if you've ever been a parent or if you know parents or you've met somebody who's been in that newborn season of life, you kind of know what it's like, right?

The sleepless nights, the 2am wake ups, the bottles, the diapers, the binkies, chaos. One of my favorite things that people ask me is, they're like, man, Noah, what did you do yesterday?

What's yesterday? I don't even know what yesterday is at this point. Like, I don't know, man, I'm tired. I'm tired. But I love it because here's what's different this time as being a newborn parent.

This isn't my first rodeo. This is my third kid. Come on. So you know, like, like there's just something about your third kid. Not that I don't love him any more than the others, but like, I just forget he's there sometimes.

Y' all laughing. I'm being serious. Just last night we were having dinner and I heard in the kitchen, I'm like, what's that? Oh, oh, the baby. Duh.

Yeah, we have a baby. It's crazy. It's crazy. You know, I can look back at being a first time parent, right? So being a newborn parent is one thing, but being a first time parent is completely different.

Man. With my oldest, Sonny, I was scared out of my mind. I was terrified. I had to take more tests, more exams, more practical applications to get my driver's license than I did to have to bring a newborn baby home from the hospital. They just let anybody be parents.

Like there's no system for this. It's crazy, man. I remember with Sonny, we were at the hospital, we had just had him, we left the delivery room, we went to the mother baby room, and it was like the middle of the night. Hannah's Exhausted. Rightfully so.

I'm exhausted. I have no idea what's going on. The night nurse comes in, like the shift change. Sonny is crying. He's losing his mind.

And the night nurse, not the nicest lady ever, she's like, well, did you swaddle him? What?

What did you call me? Said what? Swaddle him? I don't. I don't.

And she's like.

Wraps him up like a little burrito in, like, four seconds. He's fast asleep, peacefully. And I'm just standing there. Like, She looks at me, the nicest look on her face. Let's go there.

The nicest look on her face. And she goes, there's a YouTube video on it. And she walks out the door.

YouTube. That's how we're doing this. I get my parenting advice off YouTube.

I had no training, no preparation, zero idea what I was doing. And if I can be honest and if I can peel back another layer of that season of my life. Just a couple days before Sunny was born, I was faced with a diagnosis that would change everything.

I got diagnosed with stage four cancer.

It was Monday. A couple days later, Sonny was born Thursday and Friday. While we were in the hospital with Sonny, I found myself leaving the hospital twice to go to different hospitals to schedule surgeries, to schedule scans, to meet with an oncologist.

I was terrified. Fear consumed every area of our life. I would ask myself questions like, am I going to be here to see my son grow up? Is my son going to have any idea who I am? Is he going to be okay?

Is Hannah going to be okay? Am I going to be okay? I don't even know how to swaddle a baby. And now I'm dealing with this.

You know, I can look back and I can laugh a little bit now because I was so scared, right? I'll Never forget the 2am Conversations with my wife. We'd wake up and Sonny would be crying, and he'd have, like, a little bit of orange, yellow ooze coming out of his eyeball. And what me and Hannah did is, instead of just, like, passing it off as no big deal, we went to Dr. Google. We went to Dr. Google, WebMD and eye cancer.

It said he had eye cancer. You know, Dr. Google's like, hey, he has eye cancer. Three days to live, tops. Get your affairs in order.

I was terrified. Or like, the one time he had a cough that lasted more than just a right. Dr. Google, my baby is coughing. I don't know what to do. Can you help me?

Oh, yeah. This was before AI, right? So like, you just get WebMD and they're like, RSV, pack it up, go to the hospital, put them on a ventilator, like, this is going to be the worst week of your life.

I was terrified. But it got me thinking that how often fear drives us to search for answers, Places that only make the fear worse. Because that's what fear does. Fear doesn't just make you feel something. Fear makes you search for something.

And if we can be honest, we've all been there. Maybe your fear doesn't look like mine, but we all have fear. Maybe your fear is wrapped around your marriage, wondering if it's going to make it through this month or this year. Maybe your fear is wrapped around your finances, wondering if you have enough money to put food on the table for your family this week or to pay your bills. Maybe your fear is wrapped in an anxiety that cripples you and doesn't let you sleep at night.

Maybe your fear is wrapped around your children as you watch them make decisions that lead them farther and farther and farther away from God. Or maybe your fear is wrapped in a secret that nobody else in this room knows. The truth is that fear has a thousand different faces, but it always makes us ask the same question. Where do I search? Where do I search?

But here's what I've learned. If you're taking notes, which you should, I want you to write this down. Our reflection determines our direction. What do I mean? If you stare at negativity long enough, you're going to become cynical.

If you stare at anxiety long enough, you are going to become anxious. Whatever holds your attention eventually starts to guide your steps. And it's in that same lane of fear that we find David in. First Samuel 21. Now, David, I think David is somebody that we put in a box too quickly.

See, when we think of David, we think of hero, giant killer, anointed king, man after God's own heart. Now, all of that is true. That's who David is. But that's not where he is today. See, today David is running for his life.

He's terrified. King Saul, the first king of Israel, is out to kill him. Saul, which was once supposed to be his protector, his covering, is now his enemy and his hunter. See, King Saul let jealousy and insecurity put a wedge in between him and David, and he wants to kill him. So David, doing what any rightful minded person would do, he runs for his life.

He runs for his life.

First Samuel 21.

David, he goes to a town called Nod. This is Verse one. He sees Ahimelech. The priest, Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. Let's stop there.

He trembled when he saw David. Why is that noteworthy? David is the equivalent of, like, a vice president or a commander in the military. It was unheard of for somebody of his rank and his stature to travel alone. And that's like seeing the vice president without the secret Service.

Something's wrong. Something's wrong. So the priest, he trembles and he says, why are you alone? Why is nobody with you?

David's response, I'm going to summarize it. He basically says, well, hear me out. The king, he sent me on a private manor, super secret. He doesn't want anybody to know about it.

Yeah. By the way, my men, the guys who respond, they're gonna come later. By the way, do you have any food?

He lies. David lies right through his teeth. The first thing that David does when he gets his judgment, gets a little cloudy, is he lies. He lies. He puts on this performance.

He acts like he has it all together. He tries to come up with this little game plan, this little manipulation moment. See, fear has a funny way of making performers out of all of us.

So the priest, nice guy, he offers him some bread. David takes the bread. And at this point, like, in my biblical imagination, David is like, all right, he's not onto me. I got myself this far. You know, a couple white lies never hurt anybody.

I got some bread. Now I'm fed. I wonder what else I can get away with. Ooh, I wonder if he has a weapon. I wonder if he has a weapon.

So that's what David says. He says, hey, the king's business was so urgent, I forgot to grab my sword. You wouldn't happen to have anything lying around, would you? And the priest says in verse nine, he says, I only have the sword of Goliath, the Philistine that you killed in the valley. And David says, there is nothing like it.

Give it to me. Now, at this point, if you're reading this story for the first time, you're probably assuming, all right, David lied his way into some bread. He lied his way into a weapon. He's manipulated the situation a little bit. He's running for his life.

Surely David's gonna make a good decision. Surely, surely he's gonna go seek refuge somewhere safe. He's gonna go find Samuel. He's gonna go find the Frank. He's gonna go hide in a cave somewhere.

That would make sense, right? That's not what he does. He does something truly unbelievable. He goes to Gath. Gath.

Philistine territory. Enemy territory. Gath is the hometown of Goliath, the giant that he killed.

He's seeking refuge there. Think about it. The man who killed Goliath running to Goliath's hometown, carrying the weapon of his most famous enemy.

In what world does this make sense? Like, I've read through this 50 times and I'm like, there has to be some, like, plot here. Like, it has to, like, come from. No, no, it makes no sense. Like, what was the plan here, David?

You were in pursuit of what?

You know, it's like. It's like this. It's like watching a horror movie, which nobody should do. It's like watching a horror movie and that scene comes and, like, the chainsaw massacre guy is like, in the basement. I don't know how he got in there, but, like, you're watching it and the characters are like, oh, no, we're in danger.

We should go hide in the basement. And you're like, no, go to the car. The keys are in it. Leave. Call the cops, something.

See, it's like everybody watching knows the right decision, except for the person making it.

Because that's what fear does. Fear distorts your judgment. It convinces you that something that almost destroys you could possibly save you. And before we get too hard on David, before we're like, oh, David, why would you go to Gath? That makes no sense, bro.

What the heck?

We're not any better. You said I beat Goliath, but fear takes me back to where Goliath lived. We've all been there. We all have a gaff. And the scary thing is that nobody here plans on going back to Gath.

Gath is the place that you swore you would never go to. I am never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever going back there. I'm never going back to that relationship. It's toxic. He's not good for me.

I'm never going there. Well, then fear cripples its way in and insecurity, and you find yourself back in that relationship again. Or maybe your Gath is a bad habit. I'm putting it down. I'm not going to do it anymore.

I said I don't need it. But then the noise gets loud, and all of a sudden you find yourself there again. Maybe Gath for you is a website. Maybe you said, I'm never clicking on that link again. But the night got quiet, the voices got loud, the temptation crept in, and you find yourself there again.

Well, maybe your gas is the desire to have Everybody's approval. Man, if I just. If everybody liked me, man. Hey, side note, you don't want everybody to like you. That's not fun.

If I just got everybody to like me. No, I'm not. I don't need that lifestyle anymore. I don't need to be a people pleaser. I don't need everybody to like me.

But then you get left out of one event or you don't get an invite somewhere. And now all of a sudden you find yourself back to the people pleasing mentality. You're back in gas again.

Never and again are close cousins.

I said I'd never go back there, but here I am again.

We all have a Gath. And here's the thing about Gath. Gath always over promises and it under delivers.

So David, he walks into Gath and within moments he is recognized. Like he's recognized the king's servants, they say to the king, they say, is this not David, the one that they sing about? Saul has slain his thousands, David, his tens of thousands. David has a hit single named after him. Like, everybody knows who David is.

Oh man, he's. Can you imagine? Imagine the panic on David. Fear distorted his judgment. He finds his way back in Gath.

He's like, maybe they won't recognize me. He's called out immediately. He's standing in the middle of the city of his most famous enemy, holding the enemy's sword. And everybody knows exactly who he is. He's in more danger now than he was ever before he got to Gath.

But hear me out. Is that not exactly what sin does to us? It promises relief, but it delivers regret. It promises comfort, but it delivers shame. It promises control, but it delivers more fear.

Because Gath was never designed to save you. Only God can do that.

So here's what happens. The story goes on. David is recognized. He's terrified. The king's servants tell the king and David does something I genuinely did not have on my bingo card for David.

Like, there's a lot of things I would imagine David to do. Like he killed a giant with a rock. Like it's a widespread. This was not on my list. This is what scripture says that he did.

He starts acting insane.

I'm not joking. I'm like full on foaming at the mouth, clawing at the doors, babbling, like going straight up insane. He acts like a crazy person and it works. He escapes. The giant killer drooling on himself in a doorway.

See, fear will convince you to do something that you swore you would never do. This is a Man who's exhausted every option. A man who's ran to every wrong place looking for a right answer. A man who thought another sword could save him. A man who.

A man who thought that Gath could offer him something that nothing else could. And now he escapes the grip of Gath and he seeks refuge in a cave. Can you picture it? There's no crowds, there's no songs, there's no armies, no celebrations, no applause. It's just David.

A cave. In the echo of this question, how did I get here? How did fear convince me to go back to Gath? How did I end up carrying the sword of the very giant that God already delivered me from?

How did I become this version of myself?

But, Church, we've all been in that cave. We've all been in that cave. Maybe for you, that cave is sitting in your truck at 2am after the argument.

Maybe for you it was lying awake, staring at the ceiling. Maybe your cave is walking out of the doctor's office after that diagnosis. Or maybe your cave is after your relapse. Maybe it was after you lost your temper on your kids again. Maybe it was after finally signing the papers.

Or maybe it was after you clicked on that link that you told God you'd never click on again. And you just sit there and you wonder, how did I get here?

But here's what I love about God. The cave is not the end of David's story. It's the beginning. See, sometimes it's the silence of a cave that finally becomes loud enough for us to hear the voice of God.

Now, I've spent all of this time talking about David in 1st Samuel 21 because I don't think we can truly appreciate where David is when he writes Psalms 34 without understanding the context.

He writes Psalms 34, not from a throne, not from victory, not after Saul is dead, not after life. Makes sense. He writes it from the cave.

And I can almost see him sitting there. The adrenaline is worn off. The embarrassment of Gath is settling in. He's replaying every decision in his mind, every lie, every compromise. And instead of replaying his failures one more time, he puts down Goliath's sword.

He picks up his writing utensil and he writes this. Psalms 34, verse 1.

I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Watch this. I will bless the Lord at all times. Church, say all.

All times. What is David saying? He's saying that my circumstances do not dictate whether or not God is worthy of my praise.

He goes on to say, my soul makes its boast in the Lord. Moments ago, David thought a sword might save him. Another plan, another hiding place, another strategy. But now something has changed. His confidence is no longer in what he's holding, but his confidence is in the one who is holding him.

Come on. He goes on to say, oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. See, fear is gonna say to you, handle this by yourself. Go find another hiding place. Keep going.

Keep running. Keep. But David says, oh, come together. Come here. Let's worship him together.

Then we arrive at verse four. Now, David, the cave, Goliath, the sword, the drooling, the fear. It all leads to this moment.

What do we do when we're back? Gath?

I sought the Lord, and he answered me. And he delivered me from all of my fears.

I sought, he answered, and he delivered. Not I figured it out. Not I found the right hiding place. Not I found the right resource, not the right plan. I sought the Lord.

Our reflection determines our direction. What did David do? He fixed his gaze. From the cave, from the pit, from Gath, from where he lost all hope. God answered him.

He answered and he delivered. Now watch this. Right. Scripture says he delivered him from all of his fears. Don't get it twisted.

He didn't deliver him from all of his circumstances. His circumstances stayed the same. It was from his fears.

Now, to bring this full circle. I told you guys. About four years ago, I was met with a diagnosis that changed everything. It really did.

Hospital rooms, doctor's appointments, scans, surgeries, treatment. Not knowing how to swaddle a baby.

Life was hard. I know what it feels like to have lost all hope, to stare at fear and have it lead me places that I never wanted to be. I know what the cave feels like. I know what gas feels like. I know what it feels like to want to run somewhere, anywhere, just to make the noise stop.

And in that place, I made a decision. I put my foot down and I said to God. In my cave, I said, God, you're either gonna heal me of this disease and I'm gonna spend the rest of my life telling everybody about what you did, or you don't.

Either way, I'm okay.

Hear me? That's not a resignation. I didn't put up a white flag and say, oh, I give up. That was the most radical act of trust that I have ever been capable of making. That was me saying to God, you know what, God?

I trust you with the outcome, even the one that I am Most scared of even that one God. I trust you. I trust you.

Listen to me. I sought the Lord, and he answered me. And he delivered me from my fear. And now I get to stand here today, fully healed, to testify with three beautiful babies at home, two miracle children. Come on.

Now. Hear me. It's not because of statistics. It's not because of the right treatment plan. It's not because of the right doctors.

It's because I sought the Lord, and he delivered me from my fear. Because he's a God who answers. And church, I want to encourage you that the same God that met David in Gath and the same God that met David in the cave is the same God who answered me in a hospital bed. And the same God who answered me in a hospital bed is the same God that's in this room right now. And I don't know what you're going through, but God wants to answer you, but you gotta seek Him.

Would you stand up with me around this place?

So what do you do when you find yourself back in gas? When fear's been calling the shots, when you're reflecting, has been driving you in a direction that you never wanted to go?

What do you do? You do what David did. You stop staring at the giant, you shift your gaze, you open your mouth, and he prays. And it's not because your circumstances have changed. It's because he's worthy before they ever do.

Now, some of you, you might have run to gas in the noise of panic, in the noise of fear. And you find yourself in gas right now, you're like, man, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. God is inviting you into the quiet place of a cave. And it's in that cave that we can find David and we can ask him the simple question.

David, how'd you do it? How did you do it? David, man, you were somewhere, you never how did you do it? And I can imagine David sitting there. He's in this cave, and it starts out in desperation.

He says, man, I don't know. But I sought the Lord and he answered me, and he delivered me from all of my fears. No, no, no, David, that's not it. Right? That's not the recipe, is it?

That's not the antidote for fear, is it? David says, hey, I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and he delivered me from my fears. And slowly the desperation becomes a declaration. David, that's not it, is it? David says, I sought the Lord, and he heard and he answered me.

And he delivered me from my fears. Church, do you believe that? Come on.

That's why we trust him. Come on. That's why I trusted. I saw the Lord, and he heard and he answered, I saw the Lord. Come on.

And he heard and he answered, I saw the Lord, and he heard and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust him. I saw, then he answered, I saw the Lord, then he heard, then he answered, I saw the Lord. He heard that answer.

That's why I trust. That's why I trust him. God, my Savior, the one who will never.

So what do you do? It's that simple. The invitation of Psalms 34 is simple. I sought the Lord. Now, tangibly, one takeaway.

What does that feel like right now in your gas and your cave and your fear and anger, your anxiety. It's the declaration of trust. It's saying, God, I'm gonna trust you. I'm gonna submit to you. God, I know that your plan is better than any plan that I could ever have.

God, I know that you have a plan for my life, and I trust you with it. Come on. Do you believe that, Church?

Would you lift your hands up to God? Jesus, we love you.

God, thank you that we can trust you. God, thank you for meeting us in our cave. God, thank you for leading. Leading us away from gas. God, thank you that we can seek you, God, that you're the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

That the same God that was with David is the same God that's here. So, God, I don't know all the intricate details of this, of this church in their lives. God. But God, you do. And, God, would you allow them to see you?

Would you draw them home to you? Would you give them a trust, A trust and a peace that only you can? And it's in the mighty name, the most powerful name, the name above all names, in the name of Jesus. The church said, Amen. Amen.

God bless.