The Heart in Transformation: The Life of David

Rev. Dr. Mark Raeburn Johnston

-Conclusion-

Any Heart

He was a man who could dance and sing before the Lord, or drool to feign insanity
before his enemies!  He was familiar with the rugged terrain of the Judean wilderness and the comforts of the King’s chamber.  He fought wild beasts, giants and the enemy of Israel, and was a victor over all of them!

David also lost the most difficult of battles, the battle of the heart-and he fell into the sin of adultery.

Character is often defined by the way we respond to personal failure!

Even though God had forgiven him, David struggled to forgive himself!  His later years
were filled with the desire to make things right with God!  Serving God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength became the driving quest of this son of Jesse!

Recognizing that he enjoyed the splendor of his palace in Jerusalem while the Lord was
consigned to a tent in Shiloh, David purposed to build a Temple for the Living God.

“Why should I live in a palace while the Lord dwells in a tent?” was his question, and he
set about to build what would have been the most awesome building of the age.

But David had often bloodied his hands while striking the enemies of Israel.  Through
prayer and prophecy, the Lord told David that he couldn’t build the Temple, but that Solomon, his son, would construct it!

Recognizing and obeying the word of God, David did the next best thing.  He prepared
for the building of God’s Temple by gathering the incredible resources needed for the sanctuary of God.  We read that when Solomon constructed the Temple, there had never been a more magnificent edifice designed in the history of Israel!

The legacy David left the world is finally more than the heroic story of his life.  It’s also the beauty of a heart in love with God, the character of one who refuses to give up hope in the mercy and grace of the One who calls us from obscurity into the marvelous light of His Presence!

Let’s take a moment to reflect on our legacies, not our limitations.  The Lord will bless
and use any heart that seeks to worship Him!