Hello everyone.
I want to first start out by saying that I am grateful that Jesus rose from the dead. As 1 Corinthians chapter 15 makes clear, Jesus’ resurrection gives us both hope and assurance that He will come one day and resurrect His children who are sleeping in the grave.
Jesus is wonderful and He wants to be the Best Friend of each and every one of us.
Note: I chose the picture in this blog post because David was a shepherd before he was a king.
Today, next week, and the following week, I will be going over some insights that I’ve gained from David’s relationship with God. I hope that these insights will touch your hearts as they have touched my heart.
The Bible passages I will be discussing over the course of this week and the next two weeks are Psalm 38, (today) Psalm 40, (next week) and Psalm 51 (the following week). What I want us all to see in these chapters is how vulnerable, honest and trusting David was in his relationship with God. I want us all to be inspired that we also can be vulnerable, honest and trusting in our relationships with God.
In Psalm 38, David asks God to be gentle when punishing him. (Psalm 38:1-3) At the same time, he acknowledges his sin and makes no excuses for it (Psalm 38:3-9). He then immediately moves on to tell God about people in his life who are causing him great trouble and to express how he takes no action against them because he trusts God to look out for him. (Psalm 38:10-16)
As we again review Psalm 38:16 and then move on to the remaining verses of this chapter, we see how David beautifully demonstrates his confidence in God’s mercy, his understanding of God’s loving heart and his humility and repentance.
“For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.
Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.”
Psalm 38:16-22 (KJV)
(An interesting sidenote: In the midst of this prayer, we can note that David does not give in to an all or nothing attitude in regards to his character. He doesn’t give in to an attitude that says, the fact that I’ve done wrong means that everything that I do is wrong. In verse 20, David says, “They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.” Psalm 38:20 (KJV) )
What a relationship! David’s relationship with God was so trusting. He knew that God was his Loving Father even when He disciplined him. He knew that he could express his desire to be dealt with gently while being corrected, he knew that he could freely admit his guilt before God, and in the same prayer he could tell God about the struggles other people were causing in his life and trust that God would help him with these struggles.
I am learning to practice more vulnerability with God. I am learning to lean into His compassionate love more fully and to understand that He understands every facet of my experiences in life. My prayer is that all of us will be inspired by God’s loving heart and that we will be drawn closer and closer to Him as we continue to learn from the relationship that David had with God.
Learn and Grow 4ever 