David, yes, struggled with rejection. We see this several places in Scripture.
When David came to the battlefield as a young boy and began to ask about the battle and bring his older brothers food, they were furious at him and let him know it. David was distraught.
“Now what have I done” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” (1 Sam 17:29).
When King Saul wanted to kill David for only serving him well, David was again in deep distress. He asked his friend Jonathon,
“What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?” (1 Sam 20:1)
When Saul was pursuing David to kill him, David sneaked into Saul’s camp at night and took his water jug and spear. He could have killed him but didn’t. He wanted to prove to Saul that he had no ill will. When Saul woke up, David asked him,
“What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of?” (1 Sam 26:18).
In desperation David fled to the Philistines with his men for refuge. When the Philistines he was living among went to war with the Israelites led by his enemy Saul, David offered to join them. But the Philistine commanders refused even though he had done nothing wrong.
“But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now?” (1 Sam 29:8).
It seems like no matter what David did, no matter how innocent he was, he continued to be rejected by those around him in leadership. David faced years of rejection before he was ever officially put into a position of leadership. It was a painful place to be in but also a test of his leadership and a test of who he was in the Lord.
David never lost heart. He didn’t go to the place of hate and kill those who rejected him. He didn’t dive into self-pity and depression that would lead to apathy or even suicide. He acknowledged his hurt and his pain (we see this in the Psalms), he dealt with it, and he kept moving forward.
The last time David uttered these words he was living among the Philistines and offering to fight with them. But from that point on after Saul’s death in that battle, he would become King. It was many years in waiting, and many, many rejections, but when the time was ripe, the word of the Lord was fulfilled in his life.
His heart had proven whole even in the midst of great wounding.
