I Samuel 24:5
“But it came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.”
I want to focus on how David showed mercy to Saul. His men were saying that God delivered his enemy into his hand. So, let's kill him. David's response is to cut off part of his robe. He had opportunity to put him to death. I sympathize with his men. It does seem that God put his enemy into his hand. In a humiliating way. Saul was there going to the bathroom. So he was exposed. Saul must have been in pain, as David walked to him, cut off the robe without being heard.
David was merciful, but more so listening to God. He didn't want to go beyond what the Lord wanted. He feared God. He knew killing the king was a big deal. He didn't want to be the one to do it. He would be the new king. It would have muddied his entry and maybe exposed him to the same thing.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10). I can recall not understanding this passage at my first hearing. I knew it to be true, but didn't know why. To fear God is to listen to what He says. We know what He says is true, so we obey. One may not be a believer, but this is a start.
The more we respond to Him the more we hear, (Matthew 13:12). Pharaoh proved the truth of this in the negative. He would ignore God, thus hardening his heart. If we listen to God our heart softens and becomes more sensitive. Part of this is that we don't always know what's from Him. We listen for impressions and hunches. If we think it's from Him, we are to obey.
Our bedrock is God's Word. We are to never act contrary to it. The hunches and impressions are within the confines of His Word. We have the ability to be wrong and be completely unaware. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right unto a man, but it ends in death." That's why we are to be open. We can be wrong.
David lived his life in a God fearing way. His men were prompting him to kill Saul. It seemed right, so he approached him with his knife. When there, he was unsure, so he cut a portion of his robe. He was probably reading the entire situation. He didn't feel a confirmation to kill him, so he didn't. Afterwards he felt guilty about the robe cutting. He didn't want to be in a situation that he disobeyed God.
A pastor at church shared his way of including God in guidance. He would pray, "Lord, I'm going to do this. If this is a bad idea, could You let me know?" I've adopted that.
Lord, help us to be sensitive to Your leading. Not to be ahead or behind. Thank You for Your guidance.