We have talked about some of King David’s faults. Today I want to focus on what I admire about David. David is known to be “a man after God’s own heart.” When we look at the life of David, we can see over and over again how much David loves God.
I Love How We See David Worshipping God
This morning I was reading 1 Chronicles 15. It describes the time when David was bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Three years had passed between David’s first and second attempt at bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. The first time David and his crew failed to carry the Ark in the manner God had outlined in the law. As a result a man ended up dying when he touched the Ark to steady it. Now, three years later David gathered up the Levites who were allowed to carry the Ark using poles, musicians, and all sorts of people to walk the Ark to the place he built to hold the Ark. It was like a giant parade coming through each town. I imagine all the families coming out of their homes to watch the “parade” go through their town.
Finally, David, the Ark, and all the others made it to what is known as the City of David. David was overjoyed, and worshipped God unashamed in the streets. This is what I find incredibly admirable in David. He loved God and never cared who knew. His only concern was to worship God and make God first in his life. He knew that the fear of man is a snare. At the end of 1 Chronicles 15, we see David dancing before the Lord in worship. It must have been some dance because we see his wife, Michal, looking out at David and it says, “she despised him (David) in her heart.”
David knew how to worship God in a way that everyone around could obviously see. I want to be able to let loose and worship God just like that. My approach to worship is more reserved and probably doesn’t show my love for God to others in an effective way. I want to learn to let loose and dance and worship God like we see David doing here. He didn’t care who saw or what they thought about him. He only cared about showing God how much he loves him.
I Love How We See David Is Secure Because Of The Lord
He knew he was safe in the Lord because he knew the Lord was trustworthy. We even see how he trusts in the Lord by the songs he wrote.
“I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.” Psalms 18:1-3 (NLT)
David knew God would protect him and keep him safe. We see several times when there were people who sought to kill David for one reason or another. Of course the time when Saul was chasing David to kill him is what most of us think of first. I don’t know how long David was on the run from Saul, but I think we can safely assume it was years. Even during all that time, David was able to keep a clear head and glorify God. Psalm 57 is a great example.
Psalm 57:1-11 (ESV)
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me.
Selah
God will send out his steadfast love
and his faithfulness!
Selah
My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are
spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
Be exalted, O God, above the Heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves.
Selah
My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!”
God Who Fulfills His Purpose
It wasn’t that David put his head in the sand and pretended all was well. He knew full well that Saul was after him and would kill him given the chance. David also knew his life was in the hands of the Lord. David declares, “God who fulfills his purpose for me.” David understood God had a purpose for David’s life, and it would be fulfilled. Therefore he could worship God even as he was running for his life. I love how David shows us that no matter what may be going on in our lives, we can worship God, knowing he has a purpose for us and will fulfill that purpose. Furthermore, we can genuinely praise and worship God even if we could potentially lose our life.
David was a man who knew the importance of worshipping God. He knew how to worship God in good times and bad. He knew how to worship God alone or in a crowd. I want to learn to worship God in abandon like we see David do both alone and in a crowd. Let’s learn to break loose the fear of what others may think of us to just cut loose and worship God. Not to say people who dance around and are more showy are better worshippers than those that are quietly worshipping in the corner where no one even notices them.
Worshipping God is a personal thing and should be done for God’s glory and not to show how spiritual we are. My point is maybe we all can learn to be more abandoned when we worship our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer. Let’s try and focus on God and God alone in times of worship. I know I am going to be pressing forward on that! I hope you will too! Be blessed my friend.
Prayer:
Lord, you said in your word that you desire those worshipers who worship the Father in spirit and in truth, that you are seeking such people to worship you. Teach us how to worship in spirit and in truth. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, and may we be convinced of the truth of who you are, who we are in you, and what you have declared as truth in your word. We come into agreement with your truth, your plans and purposes for our lives, and we come out of agreement with the lies of the enemy, who tries to heap boatloads of guilt and shame all over us. You give us great freedom, because, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We have freedom to follow your ways of righteousness instead of being slaves to sin.
We have no condemnation in Jesus Christ, and we are under the new law of the Spirit of life in Christ. Thank you for adopting us as sons and daughters, and thank you for giving us bold access to your throne of grace, where we receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. You are our strong tower, our refuge and strength. Hide us next to your heart under the shadow of your wings. We look to you, we lift our eyes up to the heavens, to you, our Helper, our Redeemer, knowing that we can fully trust everything in your hands. Make us a people after your own heart. We love you, Lord. In Jesus’s Name, Amen!
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