“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3
David is considered, from a historical and spiritual standpoint, to have been a great man, not just in his dealings with people, but primarily with God. He was a man whom God described by saying: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” (Acts 13:22) How did David become a person who knew God, trusted Him implicitly and whole-heartedly? Perhaps we should begin our search for the answers in the fields that surrounded Bethlehem where David grew up, and where he tended his father’s sheep.
The first thing that is striking about David is that he was born, though surrounded with brothers, into a context of quietness. He came to know the blessedness, and essential, of quietness for a number of reasons, the greatest of which pertained to seeking God. The preoccupations and distractions of the courts, and governments of men, the social upheavals and conflicts between men and nations, seem to have taken an insignificant place in his heart, that is, until he met Goliath. It is at this time, when he would face this giant of a man, an enemy who desired to kill and destroy him, an enemy who railed against God, blaspheming His name, that something rose up in the heart of David. It was something that was born in the quietness of the hillside, and the profoundness of the working by the Spirit of God in his heart. Though his brothers, from a natural and external standpoint, were able men, quite capable of good things in difficult circumstances, they lacked the single quality that David possessed, which would distinguish him for the entirety of his life. It was faith, a faith that was given him in the depths of his heart, a faith that was communicated to him on a day when Samuel the prophet was commissioned by God to anoint another king in Israel. All of Jesse’s sons, David’s brothers, were presented to Samuel, but the Lord rejected all of them. There would be but one that God would choose, and it would be because, “…man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) There was in David’s heart a simple, straightforward faith, which God was looking for. After David was anointed with oil by Samuel, Scripture tells us that “…the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” (16:13)
What does the knowledge of David, man of God that he was ordained to become and would be, have to do with the “restoration of the soul?” If we would understand what the restoration of the soul means, then we need to understand how God worked so profoundly, yet simply, in David’s heart as a young man, and as a King in Israel.
David began to understand the meaning of the restoration of his soul when he was misunderstood by King Saul, having become an enemy in his eyes. In fleeing for his life, his soul was tried many times. He needed God to restore him consistently to a right heart and mind in the midst of trial. When David’s enemies stole the families and possessions of his men, and he was blamed for it, God restored his soul, encouraging him. After David had become king, and was very successful in his reign, he would sin greatly against a trusted servant, committing adultery with his wife. God would judge David for this but not take his life. David would again find the path of the mercy of God for the restoration of his soul. Throughout David’s life, he used well the path to God whereby God would respond to his faith by intervening directly in his soul, restoring him to faith, and fellowship with Christ. David knew that God alone could restore his soul, and so, Christ ALONE would be sought and found.
Dear Father, Restore our souls today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.