Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “ “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”- 1 Samuel 17:45
Insight: We all have our favorite people and stories in the Bible. Some love Abraham, or Moses, or Joseph, or Esther, or Naomi. But I love David. His stories resonate with me. He is a classic underdog, always doubted based on his age or his looks or his lack of sophistication. But he is the only figure in the Bible to ever be referred to as “a man after my own heart,” by God himself. So, it begs the question what about David made him a man that God would say that about? As we continue our study series on the lessons of David, today we will focus on how David always returned to his relationship with God to find stability and wisdom, whether during Mountain Top or Valley experiences. David’s courage was directly rooted in his dependence on God, as noted above in the scripture from 1 Samuel 17:45. This allowed David to be bold when everyone else was afraid. His proximity to God made him feel the way God did about what Goliath was doing to the armies of Israel by taunting them day and night. David saw this battle as God’s and he was just a servant of God who was willing to die for his faith.
What we do when no one is watching or paying attention means so much in the success we may have in the future. In the quiet moments, when it’s just us and God, are we seeking Him above all else? Are we praying and reading scripture to prepare us for the battles ahead, because surely they will come. David’s life is a perfect example of the mountain top and valley experiences that all of us will face in our lives at some time or another. In both, relying on God is the only way to successfully navigate them. David’s courage in battle led to a Mountain Top experience, but soon after he would experience one of his valley experiences, when King Saul, who had been so praiseworthy and grateful for David’s courage and bravery in defeating Goliath, would soon become wickedly jealous of him and seek to kill him. David would spend a great number of the ensuing years on the run from Saul’s murderous plots. But even here, David asked for God’s protection and pleaded for his wisdom in helping him learn how to survive and handle the trauma of this sudden turn. In fact in 1 Samuel 24, David follows the Lord’s will and doesn’t kill Saul in the cave as he could have because the Lord had made it clear it wasn’t his time to become King yet and this wasn’t the way he was to inherit the throne. How many of us if being pursued would have been as merciful as David was if given the chance to kill the one who was trying to kill us? This obedience to God’s will was only possible by his proximity to God and his deep trust in the Lord. We can learn so much wisdom from how David handled both Mountain Top and Valley experiences, always turning back to God in every situation, whether in praise or despair, in riches and health or in sickness and anguish. God’s wisdom alone is what can bring us through the depths of our greatest failures and give us perspective and protection in our greatest triumphs. David certainly had both and the lessons we can learn from him in each situation are incredibly helpful to keep ourselves moving always closer to the Lord.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for the wisdom and the lessons we can learn from following the writings of King David in the Psalms and in the Bible Stories that share details of his life. Hopefully, we can gain enough wisdom to know that You need to be first in all areas of our lives. There is nothing or no one else who can compare to You Lord. Amen!
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