Christmas is a time of excitement but not a lot of joy. It can be a very selfish time of year. We tell our children to ask Santa for the desire of their heart, but soon that shiny new toy has lost its appeal or is broken to bits. The joy is gone. Or maybe the neighbor child got a better toy, so your own toy looks cheap. Santa, or should I say Dad and Mom, should have put more money on the credit cards in order to get you the best gift possible. Sadly, this attitude is encouraged by parents who make sure little Johnny or little Betty know that Santa will bring them things.
Parents continue the lie of Santa, and worry their child is growing up when the child realizes Santa isn’t real. Those same parents don’t worry whether or not their child believes in Jesus. “Things” become more important than what will truly bring joy. That eternal joy can only come from a personal faith in Jesus Christ, but we tend to forget it’s His birth we celebrate on Christmas. The joy that comes from the Lord is everlasting and won’t break or become outdated.
“[[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David]] The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!” (Psalm 21:1).
Of course, David is speaking of himself as being the one who shall have joy. King David loved the Lord in whatever circumstances he found himself. He started as a shepherd boy who spent much time watching the flocks. Now, that’s a very important job, but it doesn’t require a lot of thought. It would have been easy for him, as a young boy, to get complacent and lose his focus. Not David. He honed his skill with a slingshot and paid attention to the wandering nature of his flock. These simple tasks taught him to be a powerful military commander and a wonderful king. He learned to trust God and to serve Him.
When King Saul’s army was hiding in the hills in fear of the giant Goliath, it was David, armed with a slingshot, who faced this evil giant and killed him. Don’t ever look at anything in your life as being trivial. You may only watch a flock of sheep, but that chore can teach you many important skills. David also used that time with the sheep to draw nearer to the Lord.
This psalm of David is one of joy and praise for God. He was never slow to sing the praises of his Lord. “Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness; thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head” (Psalm 21:2-3).
The Lord gave David the desires of his heart because David desired what the Lord desired.
Do you feel as if you’re missing out on blessings? Do you feel as if everybody has received great things from the Lord while you struggle to get by? Maybe the desires of your heart aren’t in tune with God’s desire for you. Perhaps there’s a reason you are stuck in a job you see no future in, or in a marriage with no mutual respect. David made the most of what God blessed him with…a flock of unruly sheep…and David used that blessing to make himself suitable for the next blessing from God…King of Israel.
Desire what God desires, and don’t get confused by what the world offers you. One day, all Christians will stand before the Creator of the universe, and our service to the Lord will be judged. That judgment will be for rewards, not to see if we are worthy of salvation. Faith in Jesus made us worthy for salvation and not works we’ve done. The rewards for our works will be handed out at the Bema Seat judgment. We will receive crowns for what we’ve done. Those crowns will be a joy to us but a gift we can give back to Jesus because He has done all for us. I want a crown – not one to parade around with pride in my own self – but joy in Christ and what He has helped me to do for His glory.
David is an example of a man who trusted God even in the worst of circumstances. His son wanted to kill him, but David trusted the Lord. King Saul wanted to kill him, but David trusted the Lord. “He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him even length of days for ever and ever” (Psalm 21:4).
The Lord gave David life, even when it seemed as if his life was in danger. David was a special man in the eyes of the Lord. When the Apostle Paul was speaking in the synagogue in Pisidia, he gave a history lesson to the people there. Paul spoke of King Saul and of David. “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus” (Acts 13:22-23).
David wasn’t perfect, but he was deeply repentant of his sins. If you think that your sins are too great for God to forgive you, read David’s story. God didn’t condemn him because He humbled himself before the Lord and earnestly repented. That was David’s nature and love for the Lord. The desire of his heart was to please God.
God did give him life for ever and ever. Jesus Christ was born from the lineage of David. When Gabriel came to Mary to announce that she had been chosen to give birth to the Son of God, he told her, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).
And so, it happened. David’s throne is forever. David was a man who looked forward to the coming Messiah with all his heart, and he will live eternally. David always seems a little amazed that God gave him so many blessings. That’s the way we should all see Jesus. He loves us and has given all who believe eternal life. No matter what happens in this life, there is hope for eternal life through Jesus Christ.
David knew that his greatness wasn’t through his own great deeds but was God’s greatness in him. “His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty has thou laid upon him. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou has made him exceeding glad with thy countenance” (Psalm 21:5-6).
Again, David is talking of himself in the third person when talking of what God has done for him. We can all have that same joy in the Lord if we see the great things God has done for us. David was made a king, but so are we. When Jesus dictated letters for John to send to seven churches, John sent greetings from himself and Jesus. “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6).
We have been made kings and priests, so we all need to take that seriously. Shouldn’t we study Scripture and apply it in order to be the best kings and priests that we can be? We must begin our training now. Scripture is our guide. Our desires need to line up perfectly with God’s desires. When we fail, we need to truly repent.
The Apostle John saw 24 elders around God’s throne in heaven. These elders represent the redeemed. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth“ (Revelation 5:9-10).
Kings and priests need to have their heart’s desire to be what God desires.
David trusted God, even when it was hard to trust. That’s just the way David lived his life. “For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved” (Psalm 21:7).
That attitude needs to be a part of everybody who loves God. We can trust Him, even when we cannot see how He will work things for good. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Stephen was the first Christian martyr and was stoned to death while preaching truth to the Jewish leaders, who were very offended by his words. “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59-60).
I’m sure that when the stones hit him and the pain was intense, Stephen couldn’t see any good that could come from him standing firm on his faith. Yet, as the stones flew, a young man named Saul was standing there holding the coats of those who threw the stones. He heard Stephen’s words and saw his faith.
Years later, Saul was on a trip to Damascus in a rage at people who had come to faith in Jesus. It was there that Saul, later called Paul, met Jesus and fully understood what Stephen had said. Stephen trusted the Lord and was not moved. Just as King David had written long ago, Stephen and later Paul were steadfast in their faith and would not be moved.
Can we stand strong in our own faith? What about when a friend mocks God in front of you or when you are tempted to sin? Do you stand strong in your faith, or do you go along with the crowd?
The more you desire what God desires, the easier it is to stand against evil-doers and mockers. God knows who loves Him and who doesn’t. We all make a choice to accept or reject the free gift of salvation through Christ. If we accept Him, then we gain salvation and eternal life. If we choose to reject Him, then our choice is an eternity in the burning lake of fire.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
David understood the consequences of being an enemy of God. “Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them” (Psalm 21:9-12).
There is coming a day when there will be no chance of repentance. This day will be a time of great evil on the earth, and God will have no choice but to destroy the armies of Satan. Now is the time to repent and give your life to Jesus. Now is the time to desire what Jesus desires. Repentance of sinners so nobody will face the lake of fire and eternal damnation. Jesus entered His creation and shed His blood as the once-for-all sacrifice for everybody who will accept it. Then, come to know Him and desire what He desires. Be a witness to others so they can find salvation.
“Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power” (Psalm 21:13).
David desired what God desired long before Christ was born. As Christians, our desire should be to bring as many to faith as we can. You do that by drawing nearer to Christ and humbling yourself before Him. Just as Stephen stood firm and was able to find strength in the face of death, so should we. Find joy in God’s desire.
God bless you all
Nathele Graham
Recommended prophecy sites: All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).
For a number of years, I watched Lou Dobbs Tonight and other such programs while world events shaped into an ever-more-foreboding specter. One contributor who kept popping up over the course of my writing research in trolling the news was a particular military expert who was introduced as retired LTC Robert L. Maginnis.