“And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with David.” – 1 Samuel 18:14
Father, as I watch You work in David’s life on the pages of my Bible I get very hungry, Lord. You chose David for significant purpose in his generation. You ordained a lasting destiny for this boy who would become a king. Your choice of him is mysterious. Your protection of him is undeniable. Your favor upon Him helps us to see Your generosity to Your children. I am tempted to believe that David somehow deserved this lavish grace that You poured on him. His early years were marked by integrity, patience, endurance, loyalty and uncommon valor. It seems that this man did everything right, and that deeply moves me to live in excellence. His enemies wanted to destroy him from the very onset, but You kept prospering him as he moved from trouble to trouble. How was it that He waited on You so long, and so often, when it was clear that the odds were constantly stacked against him for nearly twenty years? David never gave up, and You conferred the description upon David that we all desire: a person after Your own heart. David was hotly contested in his living for You but he pressed on through outward opposition, circumstantial pain and inward struggles. Why is it, Father, that we are tempted to crumble under lighter loads today? What was it that David had that we might be lacking?
The verse above tells us, Father, that You were with David. Yet, Lord, it cannot be simply that David was a better person than we. His high marks are embedded in Your word…but so also are his personal implosions. This man both soared and crashed. He knew both the holy fire of worship and the unholy blaze of carnality. God, You powerfully blessed a man who was an adulterer and murderer. He stole Bathsheba from Uriah, and then he sent Uriah to the heat of battle with the intention of facilitating his death. David committed murder at a distance, and his plan worked. I am left with no conclusion that You chose to prosper this man, advance this man and establish this man, all while knowing that He would do these evil works. Clearly, David’s awful sin did not negate Your destiny for him. In some way, Father, You were with Him even while his heart was given to some treacherous sins.
David’s story motivates me to believe two things about this life with You: 1) I am also one who sins, and can do things that are an affront to Your supreme self and 2) Your unconditional covenant of grace through Jesus abounds higher than any level of sin that might rise from my life.
You are an illogically merciful God to serial stumblers like David. Like me. Like those reading this prayer to You. I am learning just how relentless You are in Your pursuit of Your children. You will perfect those whom You save. You will not render to us what we deserve for our sins. You surprise us with kindness when we full-well expect wrath. I have not murdered or committed adultery with my physical body… but I have done both in my heart. Yet, You are with me as it says You were with David. You assign me my undertakings and then join me in the performing of them. What manner of love is this? It is breathtaking in that it far surpasses what my mind and heart could expect or process. Truthfully, I could almost cringe at times when I consider that I am so loved by You. Within my convicted heart I hear the frightened whisper that says, “Don’t You know who I am, Father? Don’t You know what I have done? Do you not see my repeated struggles? Why is it that You continue to love the unlovable?” I know the answer theologically but, at times, I simply cannot grasp it in any other context. The bottom line is that I am Your beloved because You wanted it that way.
Most of us sense our unworthiness of Your love, Father. Yet You do not walk away. You train us to believe more in Your grace than our own guilt. You do not demote, denounce or discard in holy hostility. It seems that You draw the most near to me when I feel the least worthy of Your intimacy. You smile in gentleness in those moments when I might expect Your thundering scowl. You talk about our tomorrows together when I am still mourning over and paralyzed by my failures of my yesterdays. You do not change, and it has taken me decades to fully grasp how essential this is to my sense of inward peace. Perfect love casts out fear, and I am one who is being made to believe that You really do love me with this perfect love. You remained with David. You cared for David in both relational and practical ways. You disciplined Him when He failed You but, incredibly, You moved closer to Him every second of His life – no matter what his actions were. You are the chaser of Your children. It is a good thing because some of us tend to wander. Others of us get discouraged or tired and walk away in the direction of lesser things. Still others want to flee You without a cause. Keep chasing us, Father. Keep loving us. Keep calling us Your very own. Remain relentless with us until things are completed here.
It began with You. It remains because of You. It will culminate with You. This is the rest of my soul today. You are the God of big-time mercy, and we yield our minds, hearts and souls to this beautiful reality today.
Very good devotional for today; a lot to meditate on.