Greetings Friends!
I have been reflecting on stories of conversion and the faith journeys of some of the prominent players in the Lord’s drama, as recorded in the scriptures. This week my attention has been zeroed in on King David. What a fascinating person in the Biblical drama! While Hollywood gave us a Richard Gere version that was fit for the box office, the real King David remains something of an enigma even though such a significant portion of scripture is devoted to telling his story. How big was David when he squared off against Goliath? What do we make of his very checkered life, morally speaking? Yet this same David is the source of some of the most beautiful prayer-songs (Psalms) that have nourished the faith of God’s people for literally several millennia!
David’s prayer-songs nourish us precisely because David is one of us…yes, he is the King of Israel (read: Messiah, anointed one) and one of the most significant sign-posts to the final Messiah, Jesus. Yet David is a flawed, finite, and fearful human being like any of us. I might add, specifically, like any of us men who are fathers! As we celebrate the fathers among us this week, David’s life of faith is a beautiful story to hold up. Not because he is perfect, but because he knows the Lord! If his prayer-songs teach us anything, they teach us that the way to answer our flawed, finite, and often fear-filled lives, is worship. David is different from Saul, his predecessor, not according to his moral fortitude and perfection, but in his humility. Especially in the midst of his greatest moral failings we find David offering humble repentance and worshipping the Lord who provides redemption.
We hope to see you in worship, in person or online, where you will find nourishment for the journey. Come and be moved by song, in prayer, and through the word proclaimed. Come and find yourself strengthened so that you may declare, like David in Psalm 18:29-30, For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Okay, so maybe battling a troop and leaping over walls isn’t in your future, but the power of God is supplied to us to face all that life might hold for us today and tomorrow. Take refuge in the Lord, you will not be disappointed!
Peace,
Tom