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"BELIEF BREEDS BEHAVIOR" "AND HE CHANGED HIS BEHAVIOR 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." (1 Samuel 21:13) (caps mine)What a tragic scene this must have been to behold. Here's David, the mighty fighter in Saul's army, now a mere fugitive. It's a sad picture indeed of Israel's greatest Hero now acting like a groveling Hobo.In the 10th verse of this same chapter, we learn that David was on the run from Saul. Maybe one too many javelins from the envious hand of the king which were hurled with jealousy and marked with death was all this future king of Israel could take. Was David's faith in God beginning to slip? Who knows? Who really knows what doubts and fears reside in the heart of any man or woman when they're up against it? Only God knows!Nonetheless, we now find David here cozying up to Achish. This fella named Achish was the king of Gath, a long-time bitter enemy of Israel. Gath was a city of the Philistines, and you'll recall that notable battle that took place in the valley of Elah. Remember all those insults from Goliath there which had filled the air? No one in Israel's corner felt like standing in the middle of the ring and trading punches with that big ole clumsy looking clodhopper. We read that it was finally David with sling in hand and the giant dressed to the nines in his suit of armor going one on one with young David coming out on top (1 Samuel 17). Now we come to verse 11 of chapter 21. The servants of Achish couldn't believe their eyes when David suddenly showed his face in Gath. They were probably wondering what in the world this champion of all fighting soldiers was up to now. They even repeated that famous song which all Israel would sing when mighty David would return from a battle, ♫ Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. ♫In verse 12, David gives those words to that memorable little tune a good going over; but his past fears of Saul now give birth to his present fear of Achish.So with all this pressing upon him, what does David do next? Verse 13 tells us, doesn't it? "And he [David] changed his behavior before them,"See the bravest and most fearless of all fighting men now scrabbling on the doors of the gate all the while spitting' and slobbering' all over himself like a fool. But you know, that's exactly how any of us would behave if we strayed from believing what the Word of God says. Yes, we too would begin to act like fools before those around us.Friends, mark it down well. When there's a change in our behavior, it's the result of a change in our belief! When we lose sight and forget God's Promises, His Presence, His Power, and His Protection; fear will set in and foolishness will spew out and that's when we'll begin to act just like David did, "And he changed his behavior before them."