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Boldly Approaching God: The Example of David
by Cate Russell-Cole We are familiar with Hebrews 4:16: "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most;" and Ephesians 3:12: "Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence;" but what you may not know, is that boldness before God isn't a New Testament privilege that arrived with Jesus. This confident attitude in approaching God is evident in how David communicates with the Lord, and was also seen in Moses, Job and other Psalmists. It may look a little disrespectful sometimes, but it is a hallmark of a dynamic, covenant relationship with God. "I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, "What will You gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise You? Can it tell of Your faithfulness? Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. Help me, O LORD." Psalm 30:8-10 (See also Psalm 44 by the Sons of Korah) I didn't know about these ancient roots of boldness, until I read "Worship in Ancient Israel," by Walter Brueggemann. On page 46-47 he writes: "Isra'el also engaged in truth telling about its life with YHWH in confession, lament and protest... Isra'el was not a submissive, second-rate player, but was a full, vigorous partner to YHWH with an unapologetic presence and an unembarrassed voice that refused to be silenced or cowed... Isra'el refuses to submit too readily to YHWH's sovereignty when that sovereignty was seen to be unfaithful; in such circumstances, Isra'el instead of submitting, made a claim for itself against YHWH." Page 49: "Such speech, in its rawness, is in fact an expression of great faith; it expresses deep conviction that when YHWH is mobilised in order to honour YHWH's covenantal commitments to Isra'el, YHWH has full capacity and power to right any situation or wrong. Thus the voice of protest and rage is characteristically in the service of plea and partition to YHWH." I agree with Professor Brueggemann that calling God to action like this can seem irreverent. However, David is never rebuked by God for being too direct. God could destroy him for speaking out, but as David's boldness is coupled with praise and dependence on God for help, He doesn't. It seems that those without the faith to get in God's face and speak their mind lose, and those with the faith to be bold, win. Honesty with God obviously pays off. "Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in You I take refuge. May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in You." Psalm 25:20-21 Calling on God is submissive, rather than subversive. David could have taken his problems into his own hands and dealt with his enemies by the sword. Instead, he persisted in knocking on God's door, and his perseverance got him a better answer. If you study the Psalms, you will find that his entreaties to God are also tempered by praise and a promise to make an offering to God when deliverance has been granted. God gets His due recognition, gratitude and with David, the testimony of what God had done is also shared among the people via a Psalm, to encourage them as well. David's brave, bold faith benefitted many people, including us today. "Declare me innocent, O God! Defend me against these ungodly people. Rescue me from these unjust liars..." verse 4: "Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, the source of all my joy. I will praise You with my harp, O God, my God! Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again my Saviour and my God!" Psalm 43:1 and 4-5 (Also see Psalm 66:13-15) So are there limits to how bold we can be? Yes; the limits begin if we abuse the Lord, blame Him for our problems, or in short, cease to address Him with any attitude that doesn't demonstrate the *fruit of the Spirit. He is merciful and patient, but He is neither a scapegoat, nor a punching bag. Respect is absolutely always called for, in every situation and praise absolutely must accompany these kinds of prayers. Submission is always a requirement. There are times when like David, regardless of the trouble we are in and how urgent it is, we just have to wait patiently for an answer and keep hoping in the Lord. There are other times when due to complications, such as the effect of other's free will on our circumstances, God can't do as we ask, and we have to submit to His authority and wisdom, like it or not. Plus there are times when we're wrong. Our 'fix it' answer was a poor one. In all these conditions we need to adopt the humble attitude Job had when he said: "I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You. You asked, 'Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?' It is I, and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me." Job 42:2-3 Despite how humbled he is, Job still has the courage to front up and reply to the Lord. So the next time you're struggling, don't hesitate to be honest with God. He already knows every detail of your circumstances and feelings, so hiding what is really going on is impossible. The Lord has promised to **bless us with every spiritual blessing. We are ***beloved, treasured heirs with Christ, and He will always ****be on our side to help us through every trial and battle. Tell Him how you feel and ask for help... And don't stop asking and seeking Him. You're not crossing a line, you're building your faith and a better, active relationship with Him. Further Reading: "How Long?" When Answers to Prayer Don't Seem to Arrive http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?article=33409 Milk, Honey and Remembering How Much God Values YOU! http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?article=34226 References: "Worship in Ancient Israel: An Essential Guide," by Walter Brueggemann, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005. ISBN: 0-687-34336-4. (Academically, theologically worded and not easy to read for the average person, but if you can get through the wording it is a massive blessing. I learned so much which reflected on my relationship with the Lord and encouraged me.) *The fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23 **Every spiritual blessing: Ephesians 1:3 ***Beloved joint heirs: Romans 8:15-17 ****By our side: Deuteronomy 31:8 and Hebrews 13:5 Re: Psalm 43:4: "Then I will go to the altar of God..." This may refer to David planning to go to the tabernacle to give a peace offering as thanks, as per Leviticus 7:11-15. Moses' honesty with God can be seen here: "Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the LORD became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. And Moses said to the LORD, "Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, 'Give us meat to eat!' I can't carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favour and spare me this misery!" Numbers 11:10-15 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more information on King David, please have a meander through the King David Project Facebook page, our web site and our blog, "Masada Rain." The blog houses many useful resources on studying, David plus bits and pieces of information which don't neatly fit into article form. Please ignore dates and use the search feature to find what you want. The web site has resources on David's family tree, life and the Psalms. All content is creative commons and non-profit. Sharing of the project's work would be deeply appreciated. Masada Rain Blog: https://masadarain.wordpress.com The project web site: http://cateartios.wix.com/kingdavidproject Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fromdespairtodeliverance This article by Cate Russell-Cole is under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) Written in Australian English. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |