David~The Seasons of a True Worshipper

     God  has me continually thinking about David of the Bible lately.  I realized today how much of a "True Worshipper" David was during His life.


    Jesus said:  "But the time is coming-and now is here-when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.  The  Father is looking for those who will worship Him in this way."  John 4:23


    Jesus said this to the Samaritan woman at the well to say that being a "true worshiper" would mean more than just someone who was a Jew.  It would apply to all those who worshipped God, The Father, in spirit and Truth from any culture and nation.


    I know David was a true worshiper.  This is evidenced by how he worshiped God in EVERY season.  He worshiped God when life wasn't as difficult, on the hills, gazing on creation and looking after his father's sheep.  But, then, unlike Saul, he worshiped God through the most difficult seasons.  He sought God during great success and deep personal failure.  For seven years he was hunted like a rodent and still believed what God had said was true-he would one day be King of Israel.  His family betrayed him, on more than one occasion.  Whether he was despised or praised, he sought God and still worshiped him as God.  Worship was more than a feeling for David.  It was a means of connecting to the Father.   And, even when the temptation to give up believing in God's goodness heightened, he continued to worship.



    And it was in those beginning days, as a shepherd, that I believe he learned to worship.  He soaked in the beauty of creation and again and again, gave His heart to God.  I believe it was here that David "fell in love" with God.  And, maybe, possibly, it was this season-his start as a singing shepherd-that he would look back at for years and years to gain strength to reach for God in the hardest seasons.

   

   David's life brings me conviction.  David's life brings me comfort.  It teaches me to soak in those wonderful, seemingly fruitful seasons and to worship God with as much integrity and force in those difficult seasons.  Thank God we can all relate to this man, who wasn't by any means perfect, but in one area-His choice to worship God in every season.