God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes. 2 Sam 22:25 (MSG)

Warrior and Worshipper – The Storyteller Series – Part 4

Go to PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  PART 6  |  PART 7

What if you could re-write your story?

In the second book of Samuel in chapter 22, King David is close to death. He pens a poem, somewhat of an end note, or a self-written eulogy of sorts. It's believed that he began to work on this poem while he was being hunted by King Saul and that he continued to work on it up until his last days. Almost the same poem can be found in Psalm 18. And if you read the story that both passages put forth without context or knowledge of King David, it reads like most other hero stories do. We have an unlikely hero; a man afflicted, wrongly accused and pursued. A worshipper and poet, who became a great king and ruled through the strength and providence of God. A man who faced dark foes, but was lead to victory by his unwavering loyalty to God. He rescued his people, and the damsel in distress, and ruled with love and light for all his days. It’s the summary of a good guy made good and victorious only by a good God.

David says of himself:

V3: He (God) is my stronghold, my refuge, and my savior — from violent people you save me.

V21: The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

V24: I have been blameless before him, and have kept myself from sin.

V33: It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

V51: “He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”

And we think, “YES. AMEN.”

But hang on. There’s more to the story.

I get a little tired of the stories about David being a hero, a warrior king, the greatest ruler the world has ever known, handsome, charismatic, artistic, and whatever else our imagination can conjure up. We paint him out to be the perfect man. The right mix of strength and sensitivity, from rags to riches, a forgotten boy to the ruler of the free world, poet and warrior, lover and fighter, handsome and regal.

Apparently.

When you start to dig into David's life, you quickly learn that he was a complicated man. He was prone to mood swings and emotional outbursts; he inflicted violence upon innocent people, he committed murder, betrayals, infidelities… He was sneaky and sly, cunning and calculated. (SIDE NOTE: Do you think Bathsheba was in a place to refuse David? That his power and position didn’t play a part in their union? Do you really think their story is a love story?) As a king he killed and manipulated for pleasure. As a father, he didn’t chastise his rapist son (or protect his victimized daughter). He was not the bright white king, blameless and upright in all his ways. He was a conflicted and violent ruler; both warrior and worshipper, and lived between the tension of the two.

We don’t often think of him this way. We like our stories neat and tidy, inspirational and clean. And often, we’ll ignore the gritty parts and not think about the questionable parts so that we can hold onto our warm fuzzy feelings.

But that's not David’s story. His is more unclean and broken. Much more like our own stories. A mix of good and bad, great and horrid, light and dark.

He wrote:

“God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.” (2 Sam 22:25)

David experienced a Holy re-write.

Maybe the foes he talks about conquering weren’t giants, King Saul's army, the Philistines, or rows upon rows of enemies. Maybe they were his internal foes. The demons within. Perhaps they were his fiercest battles and that's where God's deliverance was most deeply felt.

And maybe that's why, when he would listen in prayer to the divine, the story he heard was one of redemption and salvation rather than accusation and judgment.

A life marred with murder, power, neglect and abuse, rewritten into a life that was loved and purposed and holy.

Redemption.

What if you could re-write your story? Leave us a comment below.

Go to Part 5 – Lord Lights Up My Darkness »

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