A Modern Day David

I have been thinking a lot about how we as believers are supposed to  exist in this world. In a world of chaos and turmoil. In a world of hate and bigotry. In a world full of compromise and deceit. I believe we as believers are supposed to be yielded to what the Bible, The Word of God, has to say. We are supposed to be as Christlike as possible. We are supposed to be men and women after Gods own heart, just like David was.

Before this most recent event of injustice that stuck our world, George Floyd’s Murder, God told me to study David, how he worshiped God and became established in his dependency on Him. So I went to 1 Samuel 16 and started reading about the life of David. Much to my surprise there was not much in there that talked about his worship or really time with God other than things like “and God was with David” and general terms to describe the life of someone who was dependent and dedicated to God, but no specifics. So about a month ago I realized God was talking about the Psalms. DUH! LOL I’m slow. So, I started reading. One thing about the Psalms is that in many of them David starts with talking to God about the horrid things going on around him, begging God to listen. But, somehow at the end of each of those Psalms, David ends with standing firm in that God is going to work it out and that He hears his every cry. I think that speaks volumes to what we as believers need to be doing in this day in age. We need to be talking to God about everything that is going on and how it is affecting us BUT we need to make sure we end with reaffirming that He WILL work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

We also need to trust that He hears us. We are His children. Let’s take a natural parent for example, they hear their children cry. I know many parents that as soon as they hear a kid cry they stop the conversation, to figure out if it is their kid or not. So, on top of hearing their children cry, they know their children’s cry vs everyone else, and they know the cry of each child individually. God gave us earthly parents to be an example of Him. Now, with that being said, a whole lot of parents did not do their job correctly on being the Godly example of a parent, But, that was the goal. If our natural, imperfect parents know and hear our cry how much more can our Perfect Heavenly Father? It says in Psalms “For He who avenges the blood of His people[shed unjustly] remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted”. This verse is perfect for this time in history because it lets us know, He hears us and doesn’t forget, and that HE will avenge us. 

David reaffirms that GOD will be the one to turn things around by removing himself from the equation of seeking justice. A good example of this happening is In 1 Samuel 26. David, again, has the opportunity to kill Saul, the King who is trying to end David’s life because the Lords hand was on it. In this encounter David takes a solider, Abishai, to go with him down to where Saul and his army are sleeping for supplies. When they get down there Abishai asks to kill Saul because he had the perfect opportunity to do it quickly and silently. David tells Abishai that it was not his or Abishai’s place to kill or harm Saul because he was someone God had appointed and hadn’t removed him yet. He said “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go into battle and perish”. 

This is valid in todays world. Today’s world is full of injustices and full of things that make absolutely no sense. How are we to respond? Are we to respond with taking things into our own hands and giving them what they deserve (or at least what we think they deserve)? I believe we are to respond like David, the man who was a man after God’s own heart. I believe we are to respond with giving it to God and doing what we can that exudes Gods love and grace and mercy. After David told Abishai not to kill Saul, he then went up to a high point and gave Saul the opportunity to repent of his ways. He gave him an opportunity to realize what he had done wrong.

 David gave Saul grace, in a situation that seemed to the natural eye as one that should be given no grace. Isn’t that what God does for us? He gives us grace in our mess. He gives us grace for things that by no means deserve it, so why would we not do the same? To God all sin is equal because of the fact that it is sin and that is something that He cannot be around. If the God of the universe who has never needed an ounce of grace in His life can give us grace, why are we so quick to judge and point blame? I am guilty of this, often I see an injustice or am victim to injustices and am so quick to jump head first into unforgiveness. I think we as believers and Christ followers have to work better at giving grace. Giving grace not just to people we love, but giving grace to those that we cant stand.

 We are called to LOVE. We cannot be effective in anything we put our hands to if we are missing that piece of things. We also cannot be effective if we do not turn to the Word for how we deal with EVERYTHING that this world throws at us. My Pastor related The Bible to the Owner’s Manuel. It has the instructions on how to do this life and how to be successful. It has outlined what success looks like, cuz its a whole lot different than what the worlds view of success is. It gives us the outline on how to love, when to love, and why we love. We MUST turn there first. We MUST root everything we do in what it says. That is the only way we can succeed in a world that has an enemy that is doing everything in his power to take us out. 

LIST OF PSALMS:

-Psalms 7

-Psalms 9

-Psalms 10

-Psalms 15

-Psalms 17

-Psalms 18

-Psalms 23