Learning to Trust

Sometimes I like to take a step back and look at my life, my family, and the lives of those around me.  I like to look at how God is working in and through our lives.  I also like to look at the ways in which the real enemy attempts to get us off track.  I look at all this because I want to fight off the enemy and walk together with God.

David is such a great example because he, too, was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).  While David is not perfect and certainly falls short of perfection, he does give us a good pattern to follow.  When David seeks God, listens to God, and trusts God; things go well for him.  He avoids death at the hands of the king, becomes king himself, and defeats the enemies of the One True King.  David begins to build a kingdom that follows God as King.  This blesses David, the people around him, and even the generations to come.

For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house--a temple--for My name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-13 NLT)

David is the one through whom God’s promise to Abraham will come true: all nations will be blessed.  It will take many, many generations after David before we see the promised King who reigns forever.  He is the one who builds a house for the LORD that will stand forever.

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:19-22 ESV)

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB)

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22 NASB)

Sometimes God’s promises take thousands of years to be fulfilled, but that does not mean God is unreliable or untrustworthy.  It just means it is not time yet (2 Peter 3:8).  Sometimes God’s promises come to fruition by the end of our lifetime, but we need to wait.  Other promises, still, come true right away.  It is these “quick answers,” combined with the “slow answers” we see God fulfilling through the people in Scripture, that give us reason to trust.  We have plenty of reasons to trust The LORD.  The question is simply this: will we?

How about you?  Have you seen God’s promises come true in your life?  Are you still waiting for others to come true?  Do the stories about God and people from the past build your trust?  Do you trust The LORD?

Trust The LORD

David is king.  People wanted to honor David, so they built him a great cedar palace.  David wanted to honor The LORD, so he tried to build God a beautiful cedar building for the Ark of the Covenant.  God essentially said, “No, thank you.  But I do want to talk about the future with you.”

"Now go and say to My servant David, 'This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth!’” (2 Samuel 7:8-9 NLT)

“David,” God was saying, “Your future will be great.  You can trust what I say about your future because of what you have seen me do in your life in the past.”

And I will provide a homeland for My people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won't oppress them as they've done in the past, starting from the time I appointed judges to rule My people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. (2 Samuel 7:10-11a NLT)

“Israel,” God was saying, “ I will bless you in the future as well.  You can trust me because of my work in your lives in the past.”

Furthermore, the LORD declares that He will make a house for you--a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house--a temple--for My name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. (2 Samuel 7:11b-13 NLT)

The Israelites could look back and remember that The LORD set them free from Egyptian oppression, sustained them in the desert, and helped them flourish in the land that God had promised to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  David could look back and remember that The LORD selected him to be king as a poor shepherd boy, gave him victory over Goliath, kept him safe from Saul’s attempts to murder him, and worked everything together for his good so that he became king over all Israel.

How about you?  Do you see what The LORD has done for you  in the past?  Does it bring you joy to look back at those moments?  Do those times in your past help you trust The LORD with your future?

Honor God

David, the king of Israel, was selected because he was a man after God’s own heart.  David clearly wanted to walk with God in everything he did.  He would turn to God in prayer, turn to God’s Word, and, when in doubt, just turn to God.  Now that he is king, he wants to honor God.

When King David was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet. "Look," David said, "I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!" Nathan replied to the king, "Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." (2 Samuel 7:1-3 NLT)

David’s desire to honor God brings to mind a plan.  “I will build a house like mine to hold the Ark of the Covenant.”  In other words, “I will build a palace for God like mine.”  Even God’s prophet, Nathan, thinks this is a good idea until God comes to him with instructions for David.

But that same night the LORD said to Nathan, "Go and tell My servant David, 'This is what the LORD has declared: Are you the one to build a house for Me to live in? I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as My dwelling. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel's tribal leaders, the shepherds of My people Israel. I have never asked them, "Why haven't you built Me a beautiful cedar house?"' (2 Samuel 7:4-7 NLT)

David would not build a house for The LORD.  This does not honor God.  David learns this lesson over and over again.  The LORD tells us what shows honor: to walk with God.  Buildings, sacrifices, and other gifts don’t do it.  God is honored when we talk with Him (in prayer) , listen to Him (through Scripture and prayer), and walk with Him (obey His commands).  David started learning this lesson the hard way when he brought the Ark of the Covenant back to the city of David (2 Samuel 6).  Now he is learning that lesson again.

How about you?  Do you know how to honor God?  Do you talk with God, listen to God, and obey God?  Do you honor God?

Celebrate The LORD

I remember a series of commercials done by an entertainment company years ago.  It was effective marketing at the time.  The commercial was set up as an interview with someone who had just accomplished something great.  The interviewer would say something like, “David, you just became king over all Israel and defeated your Philistine enemies.  What are you going to do now?”  Then, the person being interviewed would say, “I’m going to _____________ ___________.”  (If you were around during the time of those commercials, you know the name of the place.)

Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all. He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab's house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab's sons, were guiding the cart as it left the house, carrying the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. (2 Samuel 6:1-4 NLT)

When David settled in as king, he really did celebrate with a party.  The celebration, though, wasn’t an all-expense-paid vacation to an entertainment resort.  His celebration was focused around the One who had made him king and given him victory.  David celebrated The LORD.

David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments--lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. (2 Samuel 6:5 NLT)

Sometimes I think we forget to pause after a victory of enemy-fighting to celebrate the One who gave us victory.  The LORD gives us everything we need to live and eat and breathe.  The LORD gives us life and sustains all life.  The LORD gives us the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit so we can navigate life, fight our spiritual enemies, and win victory every time.  The LORD deserves our praise.  We should celebrate the LORD.

And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams' horns. (2 Samuel 6:14-15 NLT)

How about you?  Do you pause after a victory to think about what you are going to do now?  Do you take the time to remember why you won victory and have peace?  Do you Celebrate The LORD?

Fight The LORD’s Enemies

Finally, David is the king of Israel.  He no longer needs to hide from Saul’s murderous threats.  He need not fight against his own Israelite extended family to become their king.  David is anointed by God, pronounced by the prophet Samuel, and, now, affirmed by all of Israel as king.  What, then, does it look like when David reigns as king?  What does it look like to have the LORD’s Kingdom come and his will be done here on earth just as it is in heaven?

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming, so he went into the stronghold. The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim. So David asked the LORD, "Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?" The LORD replied to David, "Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you." So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. "The LORD did it!" David exclaimed. "He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!" So he named that place Baal-perazim (which means "the Lord who bursts through"). (2 Samuel 5:17-20 NLT)

War is the first thing we see David doing as the newly-crowned king.  That shouldn’t surprise us, though.  Often times, I will talk about God’s design for our lives.  This perfect picture can be found in Genesis 2, when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden walking together with God.  They had nothing hidden and nothing to hide.  Even in the Garden, though, Adam and Eve faced danger.  The tree in the middle of the garden not only brought knowledge of good and evil.  It also brought with it, death.  In The Garden, Adam and Eve also faced a very real enemy who sought to devour them like a roaring lion.  Who was this enemy?  The serpent.  Adam and Eve, even in the perfect picture, needed to fight the LORD’s enemies.  They needed to go to battle.

But after a while the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim. And again David asked the LORD what to do. "Do not attack them straight on," the LORD replied. "Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees. When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on the alert! That will be the signal that the LORD is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army." So David did what the LORD commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:22-25 NLT)

It’s a good thing that David was an excellent warrior.  It’s an even better thing that he walked together with God.  The LORD gave David victory and David knew it.  His faith in battle was clearly placed into the hands of the LORD.

How about you?  Do you fight the LORD’s enemies?  Are you experienced in these kinds of spiritual battles?  Does God give you victory over His enemies?

Reigning as King

We’ve watched, now, as Israel asked the LORD for a king.  Even over God’s objections, the Israelites still asked for a king.  God gave them Saul, the kind of king that they wanted.  Saul, however, fell short early in his reign and went down hill from there.  So, God selected a man after God’s own heart.  God did not judge based on the outside.  He looked at the inside of the man.  When seeing this, he selected David.  It took years after Saul’s death for all the Israelites to accept David as their king, but, finally, they did.

So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He extended the city, starting at the supporting terraces and working inward. And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD God of Heaven's Armies was with him. Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built David a palace. And David realized that the LORD had confirmed him as king over Israel and had blessed his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. (2 Samuel 5:9-12 NLT)

How about you?  Have you ever had to wait on God’s timing before you saw your part of the LORD’s plan being fulfilled?