Fridays with David

2 Samuel 15:24-29

²⁴ There was Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place. ²⁶ But if He says thus: ‘I have no delight in you,’ here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are younot a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”²⁹ Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.

God owed David nothing, but David owed everything to God. At this low point of his leadership, David assumes nothing. He refuses to take the symbol of God’s presence from the people because he knew that God was not his personal possession. Instead, he was the leader God had chosen, but he had failed to be that leader. Now, with a heart so aware of his failure and of the crumbling of his kingdom, David acknowledges God’s place in Israel and the uncertainty of God’s plan for his life.

When we fail, it’s easy to justify ourselves or insist that God will give us what we want. But in such moments, we need to be repentant, to humble ourselves before God and allow His purposes to be fulfilled in our lives. Sometimes those purposes demand that He take from us the very things He has given.

But if our hearts are repentant and we return to a life of obedience, God will forgive us and restore us, and take the messes we have made and turn them into something beautiful again. That’s the amazing God of mercy that we serve.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of t