Thoughts on David

The person I identify most with in the Bible is King David.  I think David is a fascinating study of the human condition and I can often relate to what he went through.  His psalms run the gamut from songs of adoration and unbridled love towards his cCreator, and words of pain that no bluesman can come close to matching.  When we first meet David, he is a shepherd almost forgotten by his own father.  I, too, have felt forgotten.  Often, I feel as if I’m an afterthought to a lot of people.  Like I’m someone that fades into the background.  I can only imagine the pain David would have felt if he would have heard Jesse say, “oh, yes.  I guess I do have another son.  He’s out tending the sheep.”  Recently, I have felt what it’s like to have God say He has something for me, but it’s not time.  (Tom Petty said it best, the waiting IS the hardest part.)  I have felt lost in the wilderness and know what it’s like to cry out to God.  When you feel the whole world is against me (though I didn’t have some king ready to kill me on sight.  I, too, know what lust can do to a heart and the shame that can be felt giving into temptation.  Now, I’ve never had anybody killed for a woman, but I can relate to the thought crossing my mind.  I wished harm on the man who my ex-wife left me for.  I know what it’s like to love deeply, weep for my friends, have another man be closer than a brother to me, slay a (in my case metaphorically) giant, and also what it means to run scared to the land of the enemy just to avoid potential hurt at home.

The thing that most impresses me about David is this.  He remained a man after God’s own heart.  Even when he screwed up, which was often, he repented and turned back towards his Creator.  And when God said something wasn’t for him, he made sure who it was for had everything that was needed to succeed.  I, too, strive for that .  I want to lead men.  I want to be someone that can be relied on.  I want to lead men into battle, whatever that might look like, and know that with God on our side, we will emerge victorious.  I want to be a King in His Kingdom.  I want Him to tell me, “Well done.”