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King David

Aligning Yourself with God

            We’ve been talking about where living without God affects us the most: in relationships (see Rejecting God Leads to Broken Relationships , and Why Are Your Relationships Disappointing).

            Thus, it would behoove you to make sure that you are aligning yourself with God. We’ll come back to that shortly…

            As you recall, King Saul had disobeyed God; and in response, Jehovah lifted His favor off of the king’s rule. Saul continued to falter in his obedience throughout the remaining decade and a half years of his reign. Because of that, God transferred His favor to a 15-year-old sheepherder named David (1 Sam. 16:13, 14.)

            Saul was troubled because of the loss of the peace of God’s Spirit. So, his servants just happened to find this sheepherder, who was also a highly skilled harpist. When David played for the king, Saul was able to have temporary relief from his spiritual suffering.

            King Saul grew to love David like a son and made him his personal armor-bearer.

Shortly after that, the Philistines once again challenged Israel to battle. This time, they presented their champion, a ten-foot tall warrior named Goliath, proposing that he meet Israel’s champion in combat.

            Trouble was, there was no one in the Israeli army who had the courage to face him. However, when David got wind of this, he was furious:

“Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” 1 Sam. 17:26 NLT

            Armed with only a slingshot, David kills Goliath. The people heap praise upon him, which stirs up a jealous wrath in King Saul – who subsequently tries to kill David on a number of occasions.

            David, now 20 years old, escapes and puts together a 400-man army to independently fight the Philistines. All the while, he never raised a hand against his king.

            Eventually, King Saul was killed in a skirmish against the Philistines; and the now 33-year old David was made king over Israel. He ruled from Jerusalem, (now called the City of David).

God filled King David with His Spirit, enabling him to be His master psalm writer.

            A psalm is a sacred song, used for worshiping God, a love song for connecting with Him, to share our innermost thoughts and concerns. It is one of the ways that we can align ourselves with God:

Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD. Ps. 105:1 – 3. NLT

Come, let’s shout joyfully to the LORD, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song…Come, let’s worship and bow down; let’s kneel before the LORD our Maker. For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care. Ps. 95:1, 2 & 6, 7. CSB.

            How you worship is your own personal choice – privately, in church, singing, making music, or dancing. As long as you are not trying to appear pious, Jehovah loves your expressions of worship. Even your behavior can be a form of worship:

…present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Rm. 12:1 CSB

           Is there a certain time that we are to worship God?

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall be continually in my mouth. Ps. 34:1 NKJV

            When we call out to our Creator, He surrounds us with Himself:

Know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him…I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety. Ps. 4:3 & 8. CSB

            And He guides us in His path to our highest and best life:

God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect…You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under me; so my feet did not slip. 2 Sam. 22:33, 36, 37. NKJV

            Yet, even the best life will have low points. If we align with Jehovah, He will deliver us from them:

He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy…He rescued me because He delighted in me. Ps. 18:16, 17 & 19. NASB

            It’s always about the alignment:

Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell [securely in the land] forever. For the LORD delights in justice and does not abandon His saints (faithful ones); they are preserved forever. Ps. 37:27, 28. AMP

            Jehovah loves to hear your praises, your efforts to align with Him, because it demonstrates your love and desire to stay in relationship with Him:

Make a joyful shout to the LORD; all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who made us and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name! For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Ps. 100 NKJV

            And He has a lovingly wonderful plan just for you:

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Ps. 139:16 NLT

The LORD will perfect that which concerns me… Ps. 138:8

            To begin this relationship, it’s up to you to invite your heavenly Father into having one:

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Ps. 127:1 ESV

            So, if you are aligning yourself with God, you are in relationship with Him, and are ready to be in good relationships with others. This is what He promises:

The LORD is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Ps. 23 NKJV

            Yet, in spite of all the Holy Spirit inspiration that King David was in possession of, he was still but a human being; and he momentarily fell out of alignment. Where did that affect him? In relationships.

Next time…            

Goodnight and God bless.

Hope Stems From Mercy

Why? Because no one is above falling down. Everyone sins. (Eccl. 7:20) There are no exceptions – including King David, whom God had called ‘a man after His own heart.’ (1 Sam. 13:14)

God had helped establish David’s throne in Jerusalem, uniting all of Israel under his rule. He covered him with His favor, granting David an eternal dynasty: 

…the LORD will make you a house…And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. 2 Sam. 7:11 & 16. ESV

(There is no physical house or throne that will last forever. God is referring to the eternal kingdom of Christ, whose incarnate body would later come from King David’s lineage.)

The favor of God continued to follow David until one warm spring night when he decided to cool off on the roof of his house. From his vantage point, King David saw a woman bathing on her rooftop nearby. He was smitten. (Note that he was also married at this time.)

The king did a little detective work and found out that the woman’s name was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah – one of his handpicked soldiers. David suppressed his spiritual self and gave into the flesh. He had Bathsheba brought to him for an adulterous tryst that left her with child. Subsequently, our heretofore virtuous king had Uriah sent to the front lines of a battlefield where his death was all but guaranteed.

When Bathsheba’s prescribed mourning period was over, David took her as wife and she bore him a son. Foolishly, they thought they had pulled one over on everyone. Uh-oh:

But the thing that David had done [with Bathsheba] was evil in the sight of the LORD. 2 Sam. 11:27 AMP

You can’t pull the wool over God’s eyes. He sent His prophet Nathan to King David to deliver His judgment:

“Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD to do evil in His sight?’ “ 2 Sam. 12:7 – 9. NKJV

David is standing before his Creator’s representative, accused of adultery and murder – both punishable by death according to Mosaic Law. Yet God exercised His mercy, and through Nathan, laid upon David a lesser sentence, telling him that his house would be troubled for the rest of his days and that his sins (that he had hoped to keep hidden), would be replayed in the public eye. 

(Indeed, David’s first child by Bathsheba dies, one of his subsequent sons rapes his half-sister, the half-sister’s brother exacts revenge by killing the perpetrator and goes on to publicly commit adultery with David’s wives and plots a violent coup of the king’s rule, but is killed during the attempt.)

David wholeheartedly confesses and repents of his sins and God answers his repentance through Nathan:

“The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.” 1 Sam. 12:13 NASB

Our God is such a loving and forgiving God. However, though He blots out our sin, we are still left to deal with the consequences caused by them. Sin is so destructive – it hurts God, the victim and the perpetrator. Yet there must be consequences; otherwise, everyone would just cavalierly continue in their sinful ways.

God tells us that sin (disobedience) brings a curse (Dt. 30:19, 20.) that carries the consequences of breakage – in both life and the relationships contained within. Yet praise be to God that He forgives:

…you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love… Neh. 9:17 ESV

Why? Because it is the only way the you can be healed from your sin. If you don’t have faith in God’s forgiveness, you will not forgive yourself. And the subsequent guilt and shame you heap upon yourself causes you to hate that person in the mirror, which severs your love-connection with God. 

God loves you so much that He never wants to you to be disconnected from Him, as well as He does not want to be detached from your love:

I, I am he, who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Is. 43:25 ESV

For His sake – so that love circle remains intact. Thus, He guarantees His forgiveness:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chr. 7:14 NKJV

And just like King David, we ‘turn from our wicked ways’ through confession and repentance:

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. 1 Jn. 1:9 AMP

God forgives and so should we. We are to model Him, and that includes His mercy. In fact, we must exercise our mercy first, if we hold a grudge against anyone, before we go before our Father to receive His: 

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Mt. 6:14, 15. ESV 

Forgiveness begins in the mirror, so that we can break down any barriers that we’ve erected between God and ourselves. Furthermore, when we extend that forgiveness outwards (Eph. 4:32), it completes our relationship with God and all others – ultimately completing our relationship with ourselves.

Forgiving is the highest act of giving – where we give our love away, regardless of whether we think the object of our love deserves it or not. After all, who doesn’t deserve love?

Goodnight and God bless.

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