Simon Weil said it partially right. He said there are only two things that pierce the human heart: beauty and affliction. I would add one thing—the presence of God. The presence of God pierces our heart. For us men, in our culture, less so for women, none of these are acceptable to acknowledge but both are critical to finding our heart and discovering our passion. Passion is missing because our heart has never come alive.
David’s heart was alive. David was wholehearted. David defined his identity through the love and intimacy he was experiencing in God. His passion was unleashed because of his intimacy with God’s presence. This identity had awakened his heart and the affect was a joy, exuberance, and playfulness that pervaded his outlook. This is no clearer understood than the description given to David’s response to the coming of the Ark into Jerusalem,
And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. (2 Samuel 6:13-16 NKJV)
In ancient Israel such rejoicing often accompanied major victories in battle. In every other instance women are mentioned as dancing, not men and certainly not the king. To be fair, Michal, his estranged wife, has the same reaction that most would have today. Imagine the Senior Pastor of your church acting like this during worship? This passion by David was unheard of and definitely counter cultural, even in Israel. After studying David’s life for many years, I’m convinced that David did not preplan or prepare for what happened. David simply responded to the intense gratitude he suddenly felt as a result of God’s love.
On the road,
Steve
www.steveholtonline.org
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Twitter @pastorsteveholt
