When leaders show alarm, the fear can be contagious. That is what was happening as civil war broke out in Israel. Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s next son, would be the heir to the throne. But many knew that years earlier Samuel had anointed David to be the next king. What would happen?


The whole account of the last days of Abner, Saul’s general, reads like a movie script. There are opposing, deceiving sides. Allegiances switch, back alley murders happen, bad guys gloat over their deeds, and tables are turned in the end. Through it all, the chosen people of the Lord are at unrest.


Even when David assumed full rule over Israel and became the king God Himself chose, his reign was marked by both periods of great trust in the Lord and periods of blatant disobedience. David’s choices often gave him cause for fear. But he also became more “a man after God’s own heart.”


When fears overwhelm, keep your allegiance with Jesus Christ, God’s anointed of whom David is just a shadow. Your faith – rather than your fears – can be contagious.