“EVEN THEN I WILL BE CONFIDENT”

In most of our telling of the Bible stories, David is held up as a heroic warrior-king. Some of his battles seemed necessary, as when neighboring nations attacked Israel. But God made it clear that this was not His ideal for a leader of His people.

When David suggested the idea of building a temple to honor God, it was God who brought up David’s warrior past as the reason why he was not best suited to such a task. “You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight” (1 Chronicles 22:8). God instead chose to work with David’s son, Solomon, whom He hoped would be a man of peace. The remarkable thing is that God will work with us and for us, even when we are not living ideal lives in ideal times or circumstances. This was David’s experience. When we are surrounded by threats, attacks, and enemies, God is with us.

And He is still with us, even when we might have provoked those attacks, made those enemies, or started that war. The Bible’s story of David is best read as a human story rather than a hero story—more a casebook than a guidebook.

But we can be inspired by his assertions of faith, coming amid the messiness of his life and history. As such, they best fit our lives, with all our uncertainties, inconsistencies, and questions. In David’s experience, not only was God’s care a reason not to fear a single threat or attack (see Psalm 27:1), but even an all-out attack by a whole army was still no match for the confidence and courage he had found in God’s light, salvation, and stronghold.

“Even then,” he declared, “will I be confident.”