2 Samuel 6

I was speaking about this passage today at Northland Christian School and remembered how powerful the example of David was for my own life...

6:9 - After Uzzah dies, David is angry and heartbroken and defeated. This verse tells us that he fears the Lord and he walks away from the ark. I think it is hard for American Christians to read about fearing the Lord and really understand it. We don't want to fear God...that doesn't sound right to us. We want to be filled with God. We want to be blessed by God. We want to have eternal life with God. Fearing God sounds so unrelational...it sounds so medieval. But we really need to understand that fear of God is essential for a true believer. In this chapter, fear of God is what forms the foundation for David's passionate, unashamed worship of God. David finally understands...he finally sees firsthand, that God is OTHER. God is above us. God is power. God is truth. God is righteousness. God IS. When you start to see even small glimpses of the true nature of God...fear is a natural response. It is not the same kind of fear we have for evil things...it is a fear that is centered around ultimate respect...it is a fear grounded in your extreme helplessness and meaninglessness in comparison to God's vastness. It is a beautiful fear that demands, from the depths of your soul, that you worship God with every ounce of devotion you can muster.

6:14 - "David danced with all his might." Do you ever love God like this? Have you ever loved God with this kind of passion? I have seen people celebrate at sporting events and concerts like this...but this depth of worship is rarely offered up to God. It is a shameful fact that we rarely see Christians worship God with abandon, isn't it? David gave everything he had to his dance before the Lord...his dance fueled by loving fear...his dance of pure worship. God is the only thing in the universe worthy of our worship...if fact, we were designed specifically for worshipping God. David was able to worship in this pure form because he had finally connected with His creator in such a way that nothing else mattered. Nothing! He was utterly lost in the act of honoring God...and all other thoughts/worries/concerns/fears were swept from his mind. Do you understand that your life everyday is an act of worship? Do you know that you are a worshipper? What are you worshipping with your life? Can you say what David was able to say that you are worshipping God with all your might?