King David

Amazingly enough, I am still sticking with reading through the Bible in 90 days. Today's reading started with the last words of King David. Now, reading through David's life in big chunks struck me a lot differently than reading in little bits has. David did some awesome things, but he did some terrible things too. He murdered a man, committed adultery. He was a really crappy dad. And he spent most of his recorded life hiding in caves, being deceitful to others in order to avoid capture, and running. This is not a very impressive life. But like David said,

If my house were not right with God,
    surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,
    arranged and secured in every part;
surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation
    and grant me my every desire.
                                    -2 Samuel 23:5

I'm trying to reflect on what was good in his life. What I see is a man who knew God was in charge and would win. He didn't necessarily think God was going to always give him his way, but he always knew God would get his way. He was moved to action by this (David vs. Goliath), but he was also moved to wait by this (see how often he didn't kill Saul, because he was God's anointed?). The world tells us a lot that what we want matters most. I strut around thinking that what I want and how I think things should happen matters so much. But I doubt God agrees. It's his glory that matters; luckily, if we are seeking that, our happiness is often a by-product. But it's never a guarantee. It's also good to remember that a not impressive life can also be incredibly pleasing to God.