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When I started talking with the pastor of our church about the book I wanted to write, he asked me if there were any Bible characters that exhibited the characteristics I wanted to teach about. My immediate response was: David in the story of his battle with Goliath.
He went to the blackboard, grabbed a piece of chalk, and said, "OK, what are the characteristics and how do they fit into the story?" We spent the next twenty to thirty minutes putting together a list of nine different characteristics, all of which started with 'C'.
But it felt like we needed to add one more, something that tied it all together and showed that David's life wasn't just about his battle with Goliath. We thought about the conquering life. Not that David lived a completely victorious life after his battle with Goliath, but he did continue to trust in God and even when he made mistakes, he always came back to God.
When we look at our lives we recognize that we will always have struggles and trials of different kinds. There is no standing still in life because we're either moving forward or we're falling behind.
Like David, we will have times when we make mistakes, even major ones, and we need to know how to deal with them. What does God expect from us and how do we continue to keep moving toward our dreams after those mistakes?
There were times when David's mistakes were very costly, even causing people to lose their lives. We can't underestimate the seriousness of David's sins, or ours. But we also shouldn't forget about God's mercy and forgiveness.
Some years ago our fourth son was born premature at 26 weeks. Unlike our second son who survived, Jonathan died two days after birth. For many years I had felt that he had died because of my sin. As I talked with our pastor about it and explained how I felt that God was punishing me, he just looked across the table at me and said, "What, isn't Christ's death on the cross good enough for you?"
It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been trying to punish myself because I was struggling with accepting the free gift of God's grace and mercy. God had already forgiven me, but I kept going down the path of my own wretchedness. I felt unworthy and unlovable, but God loved me anyway. And as unworthy as I may have felt, I realized that it wasn't about me, but about God. God was the one who had made me worthy.
David beat Goliath because he had learned that God was strong enough to help him conquer any problem. Throughout his life he learned that God was not only strong enough to help him overcome the obstacles he faced, but God was loving enough to help him get past his own faults and failures.
Have you ever felt that you weren't good enough? Or that God didn't love you?
The simple message of David's life, and one that I've experienced, is that God does love us. He wants the absolute best for us. In Ephesians 3:17b-19 Paul writes, "that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
The assurance that God will do great things in our lives comes from knowing just how much He loves us. The one thing that I wish for you above all else, is that you would receive the greatest of gifts, the gift of knowing God's love.
I trust that these lessons have helped you gain new insights into how to unleash the David in your life. For further information and on-going support for your faith, please go to:
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