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"And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel." (I Samuel 29:8-11)In spite of David's many deliverances, he feared that king Saul would eventually kill him, so he fled to the Philistine territories and lived in the region under king Achish. When David and his men would go out on a raid, he would go to one of the enemies of Israel, but he would tell Achish that he was raiding Israel. David's fear had placed him in an awkward position, so he had to tell a real whopper of a lie in an attempt to cover up his loyalty to Achish.When the Philistines gathered for an all-out assault on Israel, Achish wanted to bring David along as his bodyguard. Again, David is in an uncomfortable position again because he was led by his fear rather than by his faith. Achish's words concerning David back in verse 3, "I have found no fault in him", must have surely stung David's heart. The other commanders did not want David in the battle for they feared he would turn on them. God had intervened for David even when he was reaping the consequences of his failure to trust God. Oh, how gracious is God to lift us up high when we have fallen down flat!Then we find that there were still consequences back home in Ziklag. We read where some Amalekite raiders had come and taken the women and children and goods and burned their city (I Samuel 30:1). David's men spoke of stoning David for leading them into this situation (I Samuel 30:6). Again, we find that God was gracious to David, and all their families were recovered.Now the Philistines were fighting a battle in which king Saul and his son Jonathan would die. David was about to become king, but his lack of trust in God had nearly derailed that whole game plan. To be sure, David was not a perfect man, but he was a man after God's own heart. There were consequences for his lack of trust, but when confession was made, God's abundant grace was always waiting just around the corner of restoration for David.But you know what? Like David, and many others named in the Scriptures, we see all too often that we are made of that same stuff they were. As much as we would like to please God, our lack of faith is often a poor testimony.Friends, let's pause and think of the countless times God has been gracious to us and stepped in and spared us from the full consequences of our sin. Oh, thank God! Thank God indeed for His amazing and abundant grace