The tribes of Israel, (that is, the people who had made a commitment to be God's people in life and law), finally arrived in a land they could call their own. Blood, sea water and prayers had brought them to a home. What made their place a home was the King that precipitated it and presided over it: God. Yet the people did not so attribute their new place to their God. They wanted a king, lowercase. They wanted a man to preside over their territory, despite dire and specific warnings against it (1 Samuel 8:10-18).
Thus began the reign of a man named Saul. Saul's reign began well enough, but very quickly, he began to descend into corruption and paranoia, to injustice and outright lawlessness. God's solution to the problem was David. A young boy, the youngest son of a man named Jesse. David, a little shepherd with a big heart for God. A humble human with a courageous spirit.
God chose David as Saul's predecessor. David quickly evidenced why: deep faith in God allowed him to slay his peoples' fiercest enemy against all odds. David then grew into a successful soldier; so successful that he garnered the attention of all the people. They loved David so much that Saul begin to hate him.
Saul clung greedily to the throne. He desperately endeavored to kill David. But Saul's position on the throne was only precarious because he had made it so. It was his own unrighteous action that caused God to seek another, someone who would not simply obey God's instruction, but someone who would enjoy God's instruction. It was a requirement for the position. For God's people could only be properly led if led in accordance with God's will. And someone who did not love God's will, would not choose it as their path. Saul did not love it, but David did. Saul noticed that and caused David's life to spiral down into a frenzy.
David's life became tumultuous: called forth from his childhood home, David went from battlefield, to battlefield; to the king's house. From the king's house, David went from hiding place to hiding place; to enemy territory. He had no obviously linear path. He lived in a constant state of fear and flight. Except for his faith, he had no security; but his faith, his God was the one constant. God was the core of security beneath all of the tumult surrounding David.
- PLEA FROM THE WILDERNESS
Some of the best Psalms were written by David during this time of extreme duress. Each verse narrates David's emotional journey from fear, to trust, to reassurance. In essence: I am scared, but I trust you, and have good reason to, as you have saved me before. Psalm 53 is an example of a Psalm written by David while he feared for his life, homeless from the wilderness. Let's break it down with that sentence:
. . . but I trust you,Save me, O God, by Your name,And vindicate me by Your strength.Hear my prayer, O God;Give ear to the words of my mouth.For strangers have risen up against me,And oppressors have sought after my life;They have not set God before them.
. . . and have good reason to,Behold, God is my helper;The Lord is with those who uphold my life.He will repay my enemies for their evil.Cut them off in Your truth.
. . . as you have saved me before.I will freely sacrifice to You;I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
For He has delivered me out of all trouble;And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.
David began the Psalm with fear. He communicated to God his desperate situation and the character of his enemies. Likely, none of us are praying to God from a cave over fear of our enemies. But, metaphorically, we have caves and enemies of our own. We too life in fear and flight and homelessness. From David, with scripture, we know how to pray such situations into hopeful coherency. We take inventory of our fears and enemies and we pray them into God's hands. Finally we trust, because God has proven trustworthy; moreover, God has proven capable. Such a prayer reminds us of the times we have been in similar, seemingly-impossible situations and simultaneously reminds us that we are no longer in them. God moved us from the previous seemingly immovable state and can do so again.
The ability to trust is not something that can be learned then mastered. Trust is a constant effort that, at best, is more and more easily applied when it is needed. David moved from place to place with no assurance except for the same promises, on the same pages, from God that we are reading now. And though his situation seemed uncertain and his circumstances volatile, God kept David safe and fed and positioned precisely. God ensured that David always had the upper hand; despite Saul's organized pursuit of David, David was the one with the opportunity every time Saul was near.
The reason was because David clung to his faith, communicated through prayed and committed to God. Three actions often rejected and even sneered at by much of the world, rescue God's children every day.
- WHO AM I AND WHAT IS MY HOUSE?
Eventually, Saul died and David became king. And he was a king, a man, after God's own heart. David remained aware and grateful for God's presence and action in his life. His busy life as a soldier past, David committed his life to honoring God. He wanted to build a house for God.
But God explained that a house was not necessary for him. He was, and is, always, where His faithful children are. God never needed a house. He never needed to be settled. For God has been and is The House. We are the settlers, and He is the land. Indeed, God reiterated, he did not need a house and did not ask for one. Instead, God committed to building a house for them. For us.
David was stunned with amazed humility. God, who had already given so much, vowed to give more rather than receive. The news was delivered through the prophet Nathan, from God to David: the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. God vowed to give His people a place, to plant them in it and to secure them in it. To grow, to thrive, to last. To rest. And that place is His kingdom. He is The House. No matter where we are, or what circumstances befall our lives, He will make us a house.
As the Lord did for David, so will he do for all of His children who love Him; for all of His children who make their own variations of the same prayer David prayed in Psalm 53: I am scared, but I trust you, and have good reason to, as you have saved me before. The same fulfillment of promise is promised and fulfilled by God to us right now. He will make us a house.
God's goodness is so absolute that each time we receive it, we are stunned by the magnitude of His generosity. He gives so much; He fills our cup, and as it spills over we wonder how He could love us so much. That love, that relationship is built over time spent with him, praying to him, trusting in him, from the wildernesses, from caves, in the trust and hope that He will make us a house.
- ABIDE IN ME
And while that house is being made, we have been given Jesus, who has invited us to abide in Him. Because it is not always easy to wait with trust. God has given us, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, a space to abide in peace. The assurances of Jesus are alive and proffered, we need only to remember to claim them.
God is not looking for monarchs anymore, Jesus has been established in that position now and forevermore. But God is still in the business of establishing His children. He is still a protector. He is still constructing safe places for His children to grow, thrive, last and rest. During the development, He has provided shelter, direction and instruction:
Shelter, John 15:7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Direction, Matthew 6:33-34
Instruction, Matthew 6:34
Everything David lost or lacked was given back or created by God. David's life, once devoid of so much was filled to bursting by God with shelter safety, rest, redemption, establishment, purpose, family, love... and so much more. Abide in God, for He is The House. He knows what you need (Matthew 6:8) and it is His great pleasure to give it (Luke 12:32).
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Instruction, Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
And He also provided reassurance, for the times when we are feeling homeless, hopeless, or fearful.
Reassurance, Matthew 28:20
"... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Everything David lost or lacked was given back or created by God. David's life, once devoid of so much was filled to bursting by God with shelter safety, rest, redemption, establishment, purpose, family, love... and so much more. Abide in God, for He is The House. He knows what you need (Matthew 6:8) and it is His great pleasure to give it (Luke 12:32).