1Samuel 16, verses 14-16 says, “Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, ‘See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better.’” So they do this thing, and it works, noted in verse 23: “Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.”
This passage is striking because the evil spirit is from God. Clearly, God was allowing this torment, perhaps as judgement for Saul’s disobedience. Secondly, the people around Saul don’t tell him the truth, likely because they don’t perceive it, and they seek only to mitigate the symptom, not root out the cause. And Saul is happy to live in this deception. I wonder how differently things might have turned out had Saul repented?
I feel like this is the situation we face today in our world rife with rebellion against God, full of depression and anxiety, mental illness and addiction. People mollify the pain with all sorts of distractions, with comfort, ease and excess, inventing new ways of doing evil (Romans 1:30). Yet few will put a finger on the root cause, which is a life lived in disobedience to our Creator. Individuals and institutions are tormented by evil spirits and instead of dealing with the sin and rebellion that has invited them in, the world simply recommends harpists, who may look like teachers, coaches, doctors, influencers, politicians, authors, film makers, family and friends.
Pondering all this, I find myself thanking God for His correction that comes through the Word, the Spirit, the Church, my husband and my godly friends. There is safety and peace only under His wings. I pray that God will never give me or those I love over to our stubborn hearts to follow our own devices (Psalm 81:12).
God help us to find and support godly leaders in our community who will adhere to His standards. God help us to speak the truth in love, never settling for harp music alone.
~ Carla Taylor-Brown ~