Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” – 2 Samuel 16: 11-12.

As a child, I often wondered why David was known as the man who was after God’s own heart.

In the book of Psalms, he spoke so much about his enemies that it made me sort of suspicious.

I wondered: Who is this man? Why does he have so many enemies? What did he do to get so many enemies?

But if we examine David’s life, we see that he truly strived to possess the humility, love, grace, and forgiveness of God.

After his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, God vowed that David’s household would rebel against him.

And indeed it did:

His son Amnon raped his daughter Tamar. His other son Absalom then killed Amnon and then set out to kill David and take over his kingdom!

But through it all, David was gracious:

• When strangers cursed him and threw stones at him, he didn’t retaliate, but showed understanding and spiritual maturity.
• When Absalom chased him out of his palace, he begged his soldiers to spare his life.
• When Absalom was killed, David mourned and wished he had been killed in his place.
• When David returned to his throne, he forgave everyone who had turned against him

David showed kindness and mercy to everyone.

So when we read the book of Psalms, we should understand that the “enemies” David speaks of are actually the enemies of God because David did his best to live his life in complete submission to the Lord.

It was his fear of God that allowed God to speak so many beautiful truths through him in the book of Psalms.

It was his fear of God that kept him favored and protected.

And it was his humility and grace that propelled God to make an everlasting covenant with his family.

For it’s through the line of David that God’s very own Son, Jesus Christ, came into the world.

So if we don’t learn anything else from David, we should know that it pays big time to submit our lives to God!

Be blessed,

Alexia

Prayer: God, teach me how to be humble like your servant David. Guide me everyday so that my thoughts, words, and actions will glorify you and give you honor. Give me a heart that constantly seeks after you so that my path will be clear and I will not stumble in my walk with you. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.