Bible Passage:  2 Samuel 22

We have now come to the home stretch in the life of David.  This is the first time I have studied his life so intensely through 1 & 2 Samuel and if there is one phrase I could use to describe his life it would be this….

A Life NOT According To His Expectations

I am amazed at how David managed to still sing praises to God after the life he had.

Many years ago as a shepherd boy… I am sure he never expected to be suddenly summoned by the great prophet Samuel and then anointed to be the next king of Israel.  All he must have thought about then was his flock of sheep and how he must watch out for the lions and bears.

Unexpectedly, he was thrust into the battlefield when Goliath confronted Israel and in the name of the Lord of Host, he defeated the giant with just a sling and stone and God on his side.  Now best friends with the son of the king and a trusted soldier in the palace, he must have thought he would be living the high life now.

Never could he have expected that king Saul would be jealous of him and then he would spend years running away as a fugitive with Saul literally breathing down his neck.  He had chances to kill Saul but chose not to.  Surely he expected Saul to see the error of his ways and stop pursuing him… but things did not work out that way.  Saul remained his nemesis until he died in the battlefield.

Now the way was clear for him to be king and although it took him a few more years than expected, he finally united the whole kingdom.  Surely peace and God’s blessings are now expected after the years of running but yet staying true to God.

But he fell to sin… grave sins.  And his expected blissful family life and blessed kingdom never did materalize.  One disaster after another.  Wife despises him. Death in the family. Family rapes and murders.  Reconciliation was just a prelude to revolt and rebellion.  A favourite son usurps his throne through devious schemes.

Whew!  I am exhausted just thinking about it.  It was certainly a life not according to his expectations… or ours.  I mean… here was a man after the heart of God and yet his life is so chaotic, so unpredictable and so full of troubles.

How many of us feel like this?  Our lives do not go according to plan.  Whatever we want to do, there seems to be insurmountable obstacles in front of us.  Setbacks after setbacks.

Our life …. not exactly the way we expect it would go…

That is why when I read today’s passage, I was truly amazed at David because here he was… after all the turmoils in his life and reaching his last days… he could still sing… not just an ordinary song… but an extraordinary song of praise and celebration to the Lord.  There is much we can learn from his song today.

How Often Do You Sing?

I am not talking about the pop songs or national songs 🙂  I am talking about how often do you sing unto the Lord?

David sang in the night time (Psa 42:8; 77:6).  He sang with joy in the morning (Psa 90:14).  From the rising of the son to its setting, he sang praises to the Lord (Psa 113:3).  While he lived, he will sing praises to God (Psa 146:1-2).

As I am typing these words, I was chatting with a brethren who was angry about a certain event that just happened.  So my advice was to sing!  (:  Cause in singing praises to God, David could put aside all the unexpected and unhappy things that happened in his life and reminded himself of the loving, merciful, all powerful God who was and is the joy and Shepherd of his life.

And maybe that is what we need to do as well…

When we are faced with roadblocks in our life…. when our best plan for our future seems to be no plan at all… when the life we hope to have is just not happening…

Focus back on God and what He means to me… and with the grace of God like David… we could still find our joy and peace in the Lord God.

I had originally wanted to write more about this song of David but am afraid you would not read it cause it will be too long…

But I read a Christain author by the name of Chuck who said that David sums up his life in four themes:

When TIMES ARE TOUGH, the Lord is our only SECURITY.
When DAYS ARE DARK, the Lord is our only LIGHT.
When our WALK IS WEAK, the Lord is our only STRENGTH.
When our FUTURE IS FOGGY, the Lord is our only HOPE.

This summarises beautifully the song of David and I would just want to add in some things for us to consider as we read through or sing through this song…

First of all, David in verses 1-4 was declaring to everyone WHO IS GOD?  Who is this God that David is constantly singing praises to?  If you, like me, take the time to read through this song slowly, you will see so many charateristics of God that David mentioned…  and am sure it would have reminded you of who God is in your life in the past, in the present and will be in the future.

Secondly, when you look at verses 5-20, you will see how David declared WHAT GOD HAD DONE.

Then you see in verses 21-28, David was wondering HOW GOD SEES ME?

Now with all those things in mind, in verses 29-46, David now reflects on WHAT GOD IS TO ME?

David is fully convince of God’s relationship with him and he with God and expresses confidently WHY I WORSHIP HIM in verses 47-51.

I am really tempted to write more but will stop now and ask that you share instead.  But after all this talk of singing, I must end with a song at least!

I wonder what will be my final song?

Blessed Sabbath!

“We Shall Behold Him”