Life lessons we can learn from David
Have you ever wondered why David was called a man after God’s own heart? If you know the story of David, then you know the great things about David, but you must also know the flaws in him. I think David’s life is something we can all learn from.
I’ll start by saying that David is far from perfect. David was an adulterer, he coveted Bathsheba. He got these women pregnant and tried to cover up her sin by first trying to get her husband to have sex with her so he could play with the child as his own. When this didn’t work, he intentionally sent Bathsheba’s husband to the front lines to be killed. (2 Samuel 11)
David could not control his children. His son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar. And David did practically nothing about it. As a result, his other son (Tamar’s blood brother) Absalom had Amnon killed and rebelled against his own father. Causing a war. (2 Samuel 13)
But still David is known to be great. Why is that?
This is because as the Bible says
“Because the Lord does not see what man sees: man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
I’m not saying it’s okay to sin as long as you’re a good person, don’t miss my point. But I think we must first understand that David is a man. And no man is perfect and all men will have some kind of flaw. Therefore, for God to base his love on whether we sin or not is not possible because we all sin. God would not love any of us if this were the case.
Aside from David’s indiscretions, God saw something in David that no one else could.
Let’s start from the beginning. When Samuel arrived at Jesse’s house, he knew that he was there to anoint a king. There was only one problem. David was not among all the sons who were brought in to be considered king (1 Samuel 16). What does that say about David?
Well, it doesn’t say anything about David, but mostly about what his family thought of him. I’m sure his father loved him, but surely he was not favored among his family. So much so that his father did not even bring him to be considered king when Samuel specifically asked Jesse to bring all of his sons before him.
Surely Jesse thought he wasn’t referring to David. Surely the Lord must be able to anoint one of his sons that Jesse thought was a better fit. But that didn’t happen. All of Jesse’s son’s past before Samuel and none were chosen to be king.
I’m sure when they went to call David who was romping in the field with a bunch of sheep and Samuel chose him, they must have been shocked.
The first lesson I think we can all take from this is that even though one may be considered last in the eyes of the world or maybe even in the eyes of his own family, it does not mean that God considers him last.
As we learn that while David was out in the wild with the sheep, everyone probably thought he was weak and wasting his life in the wild. David learned some very important lessons. There he was with the sheep and himself and then a bear appeared. In his natural mind, this animal was stronger than him. In the natural world, David should have been mauled by the bear. But that didn’t happen, young David killed that bear.
Another day, a lion came. Once again, David should have been this animal’s lunch. This animal was stronger, no doubt, but still, David killed that lion. And David quickly learned that God was on his side. He learned that nothing was impossible for him as long as God was with him (1 Samuel 17).
When the time came for someone to go against that great giant Goliath. Everyone else was terrified. Even his brothers. And this is when we find out why God thinks of David, because of his faith. David didn’t need armor and he didn’t need a fancy sword. All he needed was God. And with a slingshot and a stone, the same faith that led him to kill the lion and the bear. He killed a giant.
Sometimes we wonder why we are sitting alone in our corner of the world, unable to do what we want or be what we want. Sometimes we have dreams that go beyond what we think we can achieve. But like David, we cannot despise these humble beginnings and time alone with God. Because it is in these times that God teaches us to kill lions and bears, so that we can face or own Goliath we will be able to kill them without problem. Because we remember how God has prepared us for this moment when we were meant to shine.
Even after David was anointed, not everything was glamorous and elegant, and he did not go to live in a castle on the hill. There was still more struggle before he got to where God had anointed him to be. He fought many war battles. He faced the jealousy of a father figure he loved the most. He had to run through the woods being chased by Saul before he entered into the promises of God.
Even when God gives you a vision, you can be sure that you will never go into it easily. Many times there is struggle along the way. After Samuel anointed David, his brothers still made fun of him. Saul still pursued him and tried to kill him, before he became king (1 Samuel 21).
The point I am trying to get to is that God never gives something for nothing. David is a man after God’s own heart because he never stopped trying, he never stopped believing and he never stopped trusting God to help him through whatever bad situation he found himself in.
Do you think going to war and killing Philistines was easy?
No, he could have lost his life. But she trusted his purpose and his anointing and there was no reason to be afraid of the obstacles she was running into. Because he knew that God had his back. Even though when he was wandering in the desert and things were difficult for him. David still prayed and cried out to God. Even on the first serving he said
Psalm of David. Petition. Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor punish me in your fury. Psalm 38:1
David was the greatest king, but this did not happen without a great fight. He did not come without trying and toying with the temptation of him. Sometimes David passed the test. And sometimes it failed, as in the case of Bathsheba. But God never stopped loving him and God never stopped having a plan for him because he knew that David’s desire to please God was greater than the times David went astray.
What you can take away from David’s account are some main themes that we can all bear to hear.
First, there may be times when you feel alone. No one can even believe in you, not even your family. People may have written you off and thought you would be nothing. But God looks into your heart. He has a plan for you and he will use you if you let him.
Second, you can sit around doing the same thing day in and day out. And ask yourself when things are going to change for you. To think that God has forgotten about you. But pay attention. Like David and the lion and the bear. God is trying to teach you something in these times that no one is close to. So learn them so you can move on to the next phase. Just like David, how can you go to the next phase with the giant if you have never learned how to kill the bear and the lion?
Third, the fact that you are going through something difficult does not mean that God is angry with you or that he has forgotten about you. David was in the desert fleeing from his father and from the law for God’s sake. God still had a plan for him, though it didn’t seem like it right away.
Fourth, the fact that you are wrong does not mean that God does not love you or that it will cause God to change his plans for you. God has had practice in this goodness of man. He created us. He knows that we are not perfect. He knows that we are going to fail sometimes. But as long as He looks at our hearts He knows that we are trying to please Him, He can work with us.
Last but not least. God will exalt you in front of your enemies, just as Samuel did with David in front of his brothers. The Bible says
“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day forward the Spirit of the Lord came mightily on David.” Samuel 16:13
So never feel like you have to take someone back for doing you wrong. God will handle them his way.
Every time I read the verses about David, I learn something new. I challenge you all to do the same. God always reveals things to me through his life that I feel we can still apply to ourselves today. When we are lost, we can always turn to the Bible for guidance. The Bible teaches us,
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; There is nothing new under the sun”. Ecclesiastes 1:9
What they had as problems we still have and from the way they learn to deal with them, we can also learn.