The Secret to King David's Greatness - Part 4

[1]

Monday, April 18, 2016

Go to VIDEO

Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.
Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.  Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!  Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.
Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you.  Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.  I long to obey your commandments!  Renew my life with your goodness.          Psalm 119:33-40 ^(NLT)

We have been looking at keys to unlocking the human heart, transforming the evil in our human nature into Godliness – turning the heart towards God’s will.  King David is our example.  We have learned that David was teachable, pro-active in his walk with God, and he had a keen sense of what constitutes real riches.

The final piece of King David’s greatness puzzle:

David trusted God and it created a 

longing for God within

Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you.  Help abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.  I long to obey your commandments!  Renew my life with your goodness.

Plugging-into greatness, or anything God wants to bring about in your life always, always, ALWAYS finally rests upon the leap of faith – a surrender to His will over your will.

David’s prayer at this point is asking for reassurance; he asked God to create faith within himself.  He trusted, yet knew he needed help to trust deeper.  David was asking like the centurion in the Gospel account who approached Jesus to heal his daughter.  Jesus told the man it was possible if he believed.  The centurion replied, I believe; help me with my doubts.[2]

This is the kind of thing that reveals the heart’s longing to be better, to love better.  It reveals the desire to be cleansed and pure within, not just the appearance of goodness that others can see.  David said, I long to obey…help me with my wandering will. 

David’s greatness was never a matter of accomplishments or physical strength, or even his popularity among the people of Israel – David’s greatness was a heart that longed to be God’s servant, and a mind that understood he was unequal to even the smallest part of that without God’s grace working on him from the inside-out!

Sometimes I look at my desk while I’m writing (like right now)

and see the incredibly disorganized mess of my workspace, and I think:  how in the world do I ever get anything done?  And then, in my visible shortcoming, what I realize is that the longing to be better, more organized and productive in God’s Kingdom simply highlights for me how unalterable is the reality that I am not only not perfect…I am woefully-inadequate to do anything for God; it is HE who is doing all things through me. 

Now, it’s hard to imagine my desk-mess could inspire confidence – but it’s the very reassurance I need; it brings renewal to my soul to know that God can work even through the disorganized, frenzied soul who is willing to trust him deeper.

For You Today

Like David, you can find the greatness God has in store for your heart and life.  It’s a matter of going a little deeper in the trust department…whatever YOUR desk looks like!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

---

[1] Title Image:   By Jastrow, via Wikimedia Commons

[2] Mark 9:24^(NLT)