King David's Secret

 David never intended to be either a king or a warrior; he was a simple shepherd, the youngest of 10 brothers.  But his time in the fields alone taught him to rely solely on God for his help; there was no one else around.  God chose him from the fields, anointed him for kingship, and gave him strength against his enemies.  

From the psalms, we can learn David's secret.  Even though he sinned greatly and brought grief upon his family in later years, David never ceased to rely on Yahweh as his strength and source of help.  Psalm 16 expresses the length and breadth of David's dependence upon God:

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to Yahweh, "You are my Lord. 

You are my good, you alone."

 

O Yahweh, it is you who are my portion and cup;

it is you yourself who secure my destiny.

Pleasant places are marked out for me:

a fair heritage indeed is my lot!

 I will bless Yahweh who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord before me always; 
with God at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

even my body shall rest in safety.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

nor let your holy one see corruption.

You will show me the path to life,

the fullness of joy in your presence,

at your right hand, joy forever.

Today, we tend to rely as much as possible on ourselves, on our own strength and intelligence, on our own resources.  "You can do it!" is what we try to teach our children.  But David evidently never had that mindset of "You can do it!"  David trusted Yahweh to "mark out pleasant places for him," to give him counsel, to deliver him from death, and to show him the path to life.  God was "at his right hand" in everything he did, and that knowledge refreshed his heart, his soul, and even his body.

Whether we have sinned greatly or not, this kind of confidence in God's support and constant attention is all we need.  St. Jeanne de Chantal said this:  Sometimes put yourself very simply before God, certain of his presence everywhere, and without any effort, whisper very softly to his sacred heart whatever your own heart prompts you to say.

It is so good to lean with confidence on someone else's support; when that Someone Else is God, who is always present to help, we can go through life with "the fullness of joy" in his presence.