II Samuel 15; Psalm 3; II Samuel 16:1-14; Psalm 7
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 let me see both it and His dwelling place. But if He says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let Him do to me what seems good to Him.”
II Samuel 15:25-27
David presents an excellent model for us. First, he is not full of superstition; he does not treat the Ark of the Covenant as his own personal “magic box” by which he can coerce God into being on his side. But more than that, he walks in humility and trusts in the righteous judgment of the LORD. David knows the LORD is sovereign. He knows that he is in God’s hands. He accepts the LORD’s will — whatever that might be.
That does not mean that David sits idly by waiting for Absalom to kill him. No, he takes prudent defensive action. He flees Jerusalem with his armed forces, but leaves spies and informers in place — with one, Hushai, particularly well placed as an active agent. And in Psalm 3 David directly seeks the LORD’s help: Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! (Ps. 3:7a) In all these actions, David is protecting not only himself, but the entire kingdom of Israel.
Through it all David exhibits humility and a profound acceptance of God’s will: let Him do to me what seems good to Him. That, I think, is worth meditating on today. In the midst of whatever situation I might be facing, in crisis or in calm, can I say the same thing? Hmm… I should, of course, be fully surrendered to God and completely accepting of whatever He has for me, but am I? Hmm… Are you?
See also: