THE RESILIENCE OF KING DAVID

Monday, February 7, 2011 Devotional

One of my favorite and most beloved Bible characters is King David. He was a man of passion and deep emotion. He was brave and nobel. When David, the young shepherd boy, heard about the challenge to fight Goliath, he stepped up to the plate and said "I can do this!" He knew that the Lord would be with Him to defeat this powerful Philistine who had defied the armies of the living God. David not only accepted the challenge, he did not back down when actually faced with this intimidating foe. Instead he ran up to the giant, shouted his baleful intentions toward him and successfully carried them out!


When twice faced with the opportunity to take revenge on and slay Saul, David elected not to. He chose rather to respect Saul's office, to honor the Lord and to refrain from harming his oppressor. He had an extraordinary sense of chivalry born out of a deep reverence for the Lord.


Perhaps one of David's most admirable qualities was his resilience. Saul's jealousies compelled him to pursue David with the intention of killing him. David fled to the cave of Adullam to escape the King's fury. "Soon his brothers and other relatives joined him there. Then others began coming- men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented- until David was the leader of about four hundred men." I Samuel 22:2 (NLT) Instead of wallowing in self pity, David took this opportunity to minister to others who were downtrodden. In his distress he managed to rally others around him and become a support to them.


Another example of David's irrepressible spirit was his reaction at the death of he and Bathsheba's son. While the baby was ill David fasted and prayed in great dismay. However, as soon as the child died, David got up from the ground where he had been pleading with God for his son's life. He put on lotions, changed clothes, went to the Tabernacle, worshipped the Lord, returned to the palace and ate. ( 2 Samuel 20) His attitude was, " While the child was alive I fasted and pleaded with God for his recovery. But when he died I realized that no amount of grieving would bring him back." The next Bible verse finds David comforting Bathsheba, sleeping with her and conceiving his next son. This child named Solomon grew to be the wisest and one of the most influential Kings on earth.


I wonder if David's ability to bounce back despite crushing circumstances was in due part to his ability and tendency to identify and verbalize his emotions. The Psalms are filled with expressions of David's complaints concerning his pain, distress, loneliness, and grief. He did not bottle up his feelings but rather gave full reign to their expression. However, after doing so he realized the importance of moving forward. Even in the Psalms David followed his negative thoughts with praise unto God. His energies were not drained by harboring and holding onto bitterness and regret. After pouring out his heart to God he was able to step out in faith and move ahead with the works he was called to accomplish. Let us strive as David did to move out of victimhood and on to victory.


Written by CF