Dustin Crowe's Blog

This isn’t so much a convictional stance but a thought in progress. It overlaps with many other things tied to the opportunities and dangers that come with search engines and AI, but it’s just one small thought for today that I’d like to think about more and hear others give a viewpoint on.

One thing I’ve had more conversations with people about lately is the use of search engines and AI. That can relate to biblical or spiritual questions or to any way we use it to get information. Should we use these tools? If we use them, should we trust them? Should we avoid them altogether?

To focus on one small sliver of the larger and needed conversation, it’s clear that part of the challenge is that AI tools (including your search engine) have their limits, weaknesses, misinformation, and biases. They also have effects we typically don’t consider, such as how they do make us lazier and weaken our ability to think well.

One thing worth considering is that the more you know about a topic or question, the more research and reflection you’ve done or the more expertise you have, the better position you are in to use these tools because you’ll likely know when it’s off, biased, pulling from bad sources, giving the popular or consensus opinion, or failing to factor in some of the data or research. As you check the sources being used, which really is essential, you’ll also have more knowledge and discernment to know if those sources are credible or not, and if the source is actually speaking into the topic or was randomly pulled through tags and SEO keywords. However, the problem with AI and search engines is that this means they are even more dangerous and misleading for those who have less knowledge, information, expertise, and familiarity with the topic/issue/question. The less educated you are on a matter and the less you’ve researched it, the less likely you will be to spot and discern when you’re not getting all the information, the best information, accurate information, the right information you need to factor, the question you’re not asking, and the best sources. That means part of what makes both search engines and AI “dangerous” is we end up trusting it with the topics, questions, and matters we know the least about, which is exactly when it is at its worst and we are most likely to be led in the wrong direction.

For instance, because of my background, I have a good bit of knowledge on the Bible, theology, church ministry, and discipleship. If I ask a search engine a question or want it to gather data or resources, I’m more likely to know when a verse or idea is being misused or taken out of context, if key sources are left out, if it’s simply saying what it thinks I want it to say and reaffirming my views based on my algorithm, if a verse I”m thinking of is missing from the list, or if a good followup question needs asked. (One thing that really really matters is having good followup or pushback questions, “narrowing” questions, clarifying questions, and specific questions.) I have enough knowledge on these matters to usually know when I’m being given the popular or shallow answer according to the general data out there, or if I’m actually getting good information. However, I know there are many others who would search the same sorts of questions and not know those things, and they would assume the results are correct or present the best info, and they’d be content to go with what pops up. When I step outside of my field and do a medical or dietary search ( like, “Are Peanut Butter M&M’s a good source of protein; please give me info that says yes”), I’m at risk in the same way because I simply don’t have enough experience, research, history, and knowledge to know what’s missing from the information given to me and how reliable it really is.

This is part of what’s concerning about how we use search engines and AI. They MIGHT be okay tools in the areas we have the most knowledge, research, experience, and expertise in, but are all the more dangerous in other areas. That doesn’t necessarily mean we shouldn’t use it in those areas, but it means we need to do more work when we use these tools for those purposes. We need to ask better and more clear questions. We need to do more research, check sources but also find the best sources, verify the data given, double check with those who are experts or do have more knowledge, be a bit skeptical of the answer, be aware that our search engine is likely giving us information based on our own history of searches and viewpoints, ask some breathing human beings, etc. We all know we shouldn’t trust everything we read on the internet, but most of us are also guilty of doing so too often: trusting a headline, scanning an article and thinking we’re informed, taking as truth the answers given when by my search engine, or trusting the “popular opinion” the internet draws from or the opinion based on my myopic algorithm.

I came across a good illustration of this as I was listening to a book this morning. I’m listening to a new book on creativity by Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde called Floating Mountains. He talks about the importance of reading, study, and research in the process of creativity. Rohde believes creativity isn’t separate from knowledge but flows out of knowledge, which requires reading real books. He writes, “Knowledge is power. Books are the storage batteries for that power. In a world of technology, it would be easy to think we can bypass books but there are reasons why reading still matters.”

Rohde gives an example of what he calls the need to beat the bias of the algorithms we all use. Search engines, social media platforms, and AI “superficially appear to give access to unfiltered information. Search images rise to the top based on popularity, and popularity is not a reliable representation of truth. Bias created by popularity is insidious and can be misleading.” A lot to chew on there but it spotlights one of the problems with these tools.

He then gives a good example. If you search “Mayan pyramid” on your phone or search engine, you’ll likely primarily see images of the beautiful El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza. (I tried it, and he was right.) He then argues that this is actually atypical of pyramid structures built by Maya-speaking peoples. He comments, “What it does represent are the thousands and thousands of people that visit Chichen Itza each year. It represents successful two-dimensional visual composition.” He explains that this photograph stands out because of its ease to capture a great photograph, with the high pyramid contrasting against the blue sky, and then the popularity of it as a site to visit. Even though it’s clearly atypical of Mayan architecture and so not a good representation, that is what most AI and search engines will bring up even though it’s flat out incorrect (though popular). But I’m assuming if the average person searched that, they simply wouldn’t have the knowledge and expertise to second-guess that when it comes up as the dominant image and answer, or they don’t know what follow up questions to ask. We don’t know what we don’t know, and we don’t know what we should know, so we don’t know how to process and respond to these responses and answers to probe more. Which is exactly why getting your information primarily through the internet rather than books and research, and trusting search engines, AI, social media platforms, and websites and news platforms is simply not something we should do.

In fact, after searching “mayan pyramid” and seeing the misleading results on my search engine that Rohde mentioned, I asked it the clarifying question, “Is the mayan pyramid at chicken itza representative of the pyramids built by Maya-speaking cultures?”, and here was the answer it gave: “The Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza, known as El Castillo or the Temple of Kukulcán, is an atypical example of traditional Maya architecture. While it sits in the Maya lowlands and was built by Maya-speaking peoples, its final, most famous form heavily incorporates foreign, non-Maya stylistic elements from central Mexico.” It then gave better information and new sources that gave more honest, more researched information. So the tool isn’t wholly unuseful, but it is unhelpful and even misleading the less I know about a topic and the more general my questions are, but it becomes more useful as a tool for research or data-gathering responses to me in areas I already know a good amount about and have the knowledge to ask specific and clarifying questions as well the knowledge to discern when it seems off or incomplete.

Because search engines and AI are primarily drawing the popular opinion, consensus thought from its data bank, or the general view on a subject, if I already have more knowledge, experience, and expertise on the subject than the average person or general data, maybe I will be able to discerningly filter the information and force it to dive deeper and give better answers based on my knowledge. But if I have about the same amount of knowledge on a topic as the average person or the general data pulled from the internet (or less knowledge on that topic), it’s all the more likely I won’t have the knowledge, expertise, or experience to know when I’m being mislead, the facts are missing, the information is impartial or incomplete, or if trustworthy sources are being used. Which makes it less of a helpful tool and I should approach it with even greater caution and do even more diligent work if I’m going to use it.

Just some random thoughts today, but something to consider if you use search engines, AI, visit websites, or scroll on social media. If we were to take Aaron Burr’s line, “Talk less, smile more” and apply it, maybe my summary would be “Scroll less, read more.” Increase how much you read books and read deeper on a given subject rather than trusting online content or becoming a person who thinks thinly but widely.

I might add, and this is another area that deserves more attention, a second point is to discuss more in community rather than arrive at thoughts and conclusions in isolation. If you surround yourself with thoughtful, biblical, well-informed and well-read, research-inclined friends and church members, then we should bring more of our questions and curiosities into those conversations and rely on their input and start to rely less upon the information gained from my search engine. Less just taking the information given to me and more conversations around thoughts and viewpoints would only help us.

I’d love any thoughts, pushback, questions, or examples.

On the day I send kids back to school, God “just so happens” to have me writing up a few Bible study questions on Hannah “lending” or entrusting the son, Samuel, that God had given her (1 Samuel 1:21-28).

Handing over, surrendering, or entrusting things to God isn’t as easy as it sounds. We don’t like to let go of control, even though we ultimately know everything is better in God’s sovereign hands, and even though us having any ounce of “control” is just an illusion.

But entrusting things to God reminds us how vulnerable we, or our kids, truly are. These feelings, or this place of surrender, is typically the last place we want to be, and yet, it’s the very place God knows we need to be. Faith and trust aren’t really needed until these sorts of moments.

Hannah’s story shows us what it looks like to entrust things to God, but her story, and Samuel’s story, shows us how God ultimately takes care of whatever is put in His hands. Hannah said, “Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD” (1 Sam. 1:28). Samuel would grow and mature. He would become a faithful prophet of God and a man who anointed Israel’s first two kings (Saul and David).

Richard Phillips writes, “The faith that receives God’s gifts also returns God’s gifts, using them to serve God’s cause and advance his kingdom. Samuel would always be Hannah’s child, but as she had received the boy in stewardship to God, she was happy to make him God’s child and God’s servant forever. Those who use God’s gifts in this way are never losers but always gainers in the end.”

With both of our kids, we participated in a family dedication where we as parents made five promises to our church and children. The promises originate with David and Sally Michael and their ministry, Truth78. The second promise is to “surrender worldly claims on our children.” The description of this promise reads:

“Because our children need what we ultimately cannot provide, we dedicate them, we surrender worldly claim, and we entrust them to the only One who can, in hope that they will belong wholly to Jesus Christ, forever.”

The phrases “surrendering all worldly claim” and “we entrust them to the Only one who can” [provide what they most need] reminds us we can’t control, fix, or guarantee most things in their life. We can’t save them. We can’t decide their path, take away pain, or ensure their safety or health. We can’t convince them that sometimes we do know what we’re talking about. Life presents parents with countless opportunities to entrust their children to God.

In hospital rooms where we’ve feared for their health, or late at night when we’re anxious about their well-being or future, we return to this dedication promise. We again surrender control and entrust them to God. We pray over them. We fight to rest in God rather than stay restless in fear and anxiety. And we must keep doing this for the rest of our lives.

Whether it’s your kids or grandkids, or whether it’s a job, finances, a trial, a fear, or whatever else, one thing I know–and one thing the Bible makes clear–is that anything entrusted to the fully trustworthy God is in safe hands.

Hand it over, and then rest, knowing God is steadfast in love, faithful, wise, sovereign, good, powerful, compassionate, and kind. He keeps all His promises. He cares for His people and is at work for them. Trust God as you entrust things to God by rehearsing the promises of God and the attributes of God. In Trusting God, Jerry Bridges, writes, “Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us.”

But we also need reminded that this isn’t a one time thing. We must entrust, then do it again, and again. Our tendency is to overreach, subtly taking things back into our own hands that we once placed in God’s hands. When we sense our hands clenching around the thing we let go of in the past, or when our minds return to that pattern of thought that demonstrates we’re not trusting God, then we should pause, pray, and entrust things to Him again.

God is, and will be, faithful in whatever is entrusted to Him.

Image is by Lavers, Barraud & Westlake from 1895.

There’s an interesting story from early in David’s reign as king that takes place in both 1 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13-15. After securing a new capital city, one of King David’s first recorded acts was to defeat the Philistines, retrieve the ark of God, and begin the important process of putting it in the new capital so God’s presence and worship would be at the center of Israel’s kingdom and life. David admonished the priests and people for not prioritized seeking God by seeking the ark in the days of Saul (1 Chronicles 13:3).

David’s intentions were good. He put God’s glory above his own. He desired the presence of God among His people and the worship of God to be central to everything else Israel did. Unlike most rulers, David isn’t seeking praise or fanfare; he wants God to be praised.

The king assembled thousands of men for this significant moment in Israel’s history and David’s reign. It would be a ten-mile march, lined with people celebrating. “And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets” (1 Chronicles 13:8).

When Good Intentions Aren’t Enough

However, the narrators of both 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles include an important detail. When David and the priests moved the ark of God, they did it the way the Philistines had (1 Samuel 6:7). They placed the ark on the back of a cart pulled by oxen. It was a “new” cart, likely made ceremonially clean and custom fit for the job.

The problem is they disobeyed a direct command of God. Numerous passages in the Law gave clear guidelines on how the ark of the covenant should be moved. It wasn’t to be carried on a cart or pulled by animals. It was to be carried by Levites who lifted it on poles (Exodus 25:14-15; Numbers 4:15; 7:8-9; Deuteronomy 31:9). It was also meant to be covered as it was moved and not touched or seen.

Despite their zeal and intentions during the processional, their ignorance or rejection of God’s commands started them off on the wrong track. The priests and the king should have known God’s Word. But either no one knew God’s instructions or no one spoke up. They thought having the right intentions was enough. But it wasn’t. God cares about our full obedience and not just our good intentions.

Eventually the oxen stumbled and David’s nephew, Uzzah, reached out his hand to steady the ark rather than see it fall over. While it’s understandable that Uzzah wanted to keep the ark from toppling off the cart, he still disobeyed God’s command not to touch the ark. We don’t know all the motives behind Uzzah’s actions, but we’re told that God “broke out” against Uzzah and put him to death (just like He had broken out against the Philistines in 2 Sam. 5:20).

A Dead Person and A Dead Party

Talk about killing the vibe. David had gathered many people for this festive celebration to honor God and reorient the kingdom around Him. They were halfway into the expedition and God struck Uzzah down. You can just imagine the shouting, singing, and musical instruments coming to a screeching halt. After the initial gasp and the whispers spreading the news, silence took over. David’s royal carnival became a real catastrophe. The morning papers would be rough. “All the king’s oxen, and all David’s men, couldn’t bring Uzzah back to life again.”

What could David do at this point? How do you restart things after God rained on the parade by putting someone to death?

You can imagine the embarrassment and confusion David must have felt. Maybe he thought, “If this is what happens when we mess with the ark, and it’s likely to happen again as we travel the next few miles, should we dare to even finish this journey and bring it to Jerusalem?” The narrator tells us that David was “angry” and “afraid” (2 Samuel 6:8-9). He was frustrated by Uzzah’s death and fearful that they might do the wrong thing again and incur the justice of God. John Woodhouse explains: “David did not understand what the Lord had done and therefore what God might do next. The men of Beth-shemesh had asked, ‘Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?’ (1 Samuel 6:20). David’s question was essentially the same: ‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?’ (v. 9).”[1]

But David was learning something about God. David and the people acted too casually with the ark of God’s presence. They ignored or overlooked God’s commands in how to transport it. They were guided by what they saw the Philistines do instead of God’s instructions. Then they presumed upon God in taking the ark so lightly as to touch it. They failed to fear and obey God. They minimized God’s holiness and presumed upon His mercy. They set aside God’s prescription for how He was to be worshipped.

Proverbs 19:2 says that zeal—a good thing—without knowledge is a bad thing. The first two commandments make it clear we’re not to worship false gods, but we’re also not to worship the true God in false ways or whatever way makes sense to us or is popular in our day. False worship, or idolatry, includes worshipping the right God in the wrong way.

If David’s kingdom was unfaithful in this initial matter, they would likely be unfaithful in later things. If David began his reign by neglecting God’s Law, then his kingdom wouldn’t be blessed (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). If David was to be a faithful servant to God, he must be taught by God the need to fear and obey God.[2]

Going Back to the Book

Because David didn’t know what to do, he ended the celebration and sent everyone home. What a tragic end to a party that had such promise. Instead of placing the ark in the city of David, it was placed in the home of Obed-edom. Over the next three months, Obed-edom experiences the blessing of God because the ark of God’s presence is in his house (2 Sam. 6:11).

We can shake our finger at David for a moment. He should have known better. We don’t know if he did or didn’t know the requirements for transporting the ark, but he should have. This was literally the job description of Israel’s king (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).

David was not immune to mistakes, even big ones. He’s a sinner through and through. He made boneheaded decisions and sometimes allowed fear to drive his actions. But what is noteworthy about David is his willingness to learn from his mistakes. Instead of doubling down, justifying his actions, blaming others, or being overwhelmed by shame, David humbly received God’s correction. David hears and heeds the lesson God teaches him.

This not only happens when he mishandled the ark of the covenant, but David’s responded with an openness to correction when he sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11-12), when Abigail intervened and restrained David from sinning in anger (1 Samuel 25), as well as when he took an unlawful census (2 Samuel 24). When God’s prophets rebuked David (2 Samuel 12, 24), he responded with humble confession and heartfelt repentance.

Part of what makes David great is that he was sensitive to conviction (1 Samuel 24:5; 2 Samuel 24:10) and open to rebuke when he did wrong. And the story of him failing to heed God’s instructions on how to move the ark, but then being corrected and guided by God’s Word, offers us another great example of how to walk with God.

The book of 1 Chronicles gives us insight into how David spent the three months following the celebration gone wrong.

“Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. 3 And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it…
Then David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, ‘You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.’ 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.” (1 Chron. 15:2-3, 11-15)

After Uzzah was killed and the ark was set aside in a temporary location, David returned to God’s Word. He realizes they hadn’t done things according to God’s instructions. He read the Law and learned what was the “rule” according to which they should move the ark (1 Chronicles 15:13). He ditched the oxen and carts. He assembled the Levites and had the ark moved “according to the word of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 15:15).

Learning the Lesson God Has for Us

I love that David wasn’t defeated by his failures, but he also didn’t dismiss them. He owned his failures, but he also learned from them. When he was unsure what to do, he went back to the Word to learn what he should do. And he did so with a heart open to receiving rebuke and correction. David doesn’t justify his actions. He admits their wrongdoing and turns from it to obedience to God’s commands. He adds knowledge alongside his zeal.

Kevin DeYoung writes, “I believe David’s greatness was simply this: for as much as he sinned he never failed to own up to his sin. I can’t find a single instance where David was rightly rebuked for his failings where he then failed to heed the rebuke… David was a man after God’s own heart because he hated sin but loved to forgive it.”[3]

Just a couple chapters earlier, David wanted Israel to seek God where they had failed to seek him before (1 Chronicles 13:3). What a great desire on David’s heart. But they “did not seek him according to the rule” (1 Chronicles 15:13). We need both. We need to seek God, but we also need to seek God the way He demands. We need to worship God, not according to what we think it should like, but according to what God commands. We need to not just have good intentions, but we need the knowledge of God found in His Word and we need obedience to what God has said.

David had demolished the pagan idols of the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:21), but he failed to recognize and raze the more subtle idols in the hearts of Israel. He needed a little more fear of God in his life to help him follow God fully, and this series of events helped David better fear and follow God.

God is good, but He is not tame. God draws near and is to be considered our Father (if we’re in Christ), but He’s also the transcendent God whose name is to be hallowed. God is merciful and just. We should never neglect the intimacy we can have with Him and the boldness to come into His presence, nor should we fail to be awed and amazed by Him.

Most of us grow a little too casual in our approach to God over time. We can take credit for what He’s done. We can neglect His Word or the gathering of His people to worship Him. We can even think small thoughts of Him and need our vision of God expanded and elevated. That’s what Scripture does. It reminds us of who God is and who we are. It keeps our view of God balanced or whole so that we don’t fall into a ditch of seeing God as too severe or lacking severity. We should not be afraid of God, but we should fear and respect God. We can run into His arms anytime, but we also should fall on our knees at times.

Like David, when should be open to correction. We should humbly own our failures and learn from them. When we don’t know what we did wrong, or what to do next, we should go back to the drawing board of Scripture and ask God to teach us. Then we should obey.

David teaches us how to learn from our mistakes by returning to God’s Word and allowing the Scriptures to guide us back into a path of obedience and wisdom. David shows us the need for humility and the beauty of a broken spirit that receives correction and redirection from the Lord. And David shows us what it looks like to repent of our sin (instead of minimizing it), to cling to God’s grace to us in our sin, and how to get right back up so we can follow and obey God.

ENDNOTES

[1] John Woodhouse, 2 Samuel: Your Kingdom Come, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 182.

[2] For the importance and centrality of the “fear of God” to David’s reign, and how it was missing in Saul’s reign, see David M. Cook, “The King’s Fear of the Lord as a Theme in the Books of Samuel,” Themelios, Vol. 45: Issue 3. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/the-kings-fear-of-the-lord-as-a-theme-in-the-books-of-samuel/

[3] Kevin DeYoung, “What Made David Great,” 1/18/2011, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/what-made-david-great/

One frustrating thing about the Christian life is how fickle our hearts prove to be. I’m amazed how I can start my day in Scripture soaring on the truths of God’s glory, and then by lunch I doubt whether God will come through for me. I can tell others about His goodness one day and then question His goodness the next. I’ve had seasons of spiritual dry spells where it felt like the dark clouds of life hid the sun of God’s presence, and then had seasons where the rays of God’s presence felt like they beamed directly on me. I can lay down my life in selflessness toward one person but act so selfish toward someone else. My mind can rest in God’s Word, only to have a windstorm of anxious thoughts sweep through with a trail of destruction.

When I look back over the last couple of decades of following Christ, I’ve seen God change me in big and small ways. My faith has grown, and yet there are also many times I’m reminded how shaky my faith can be. It can be discouraging and disappointing. The story of a disciple certainly isn’t about our faithfulness, but it’s about the faithfulness of God (2 Tim. 2:13). We remain sinners and saints in this life, made alive in Christ by God’s Spirit, and yet still haunted by indwelling sin. We must continue to submit our mind and heart to God. We must fight temptation and resist idols. We must confess and repent of our sin rather than growing comfortable with them. We stray from God and must continually return to Him

Part of what means it to be a follower of Jesus is to be an imperfect disciple. The Spirit is making us gradually more like Christ, but we also wander, doubt, and fail. We will all have seasons in the desert as well as seasons where we’ve acted foolish, been driven by worry, or walked too much in our own fallen flesh rather than the by the power of the Spirit. But how do we respond at these times? When we find ourselves overcome by fear and anxiety, overwhelmed by discouragement, wearied by our situation in life or the sin in our heart, or far from God and longing for His presence, what do we do? How do we return to the Lord? How do we regain spiritual strength when we’re weak?

David’s Story of Straying

David’s story in 1 Samuel 27-30 has all the marks of someone straying from God. 1 Samuel 27 opens with David listening to his heart, giving in to fear, and doubting God’s promises. Instead of trusting that God would deliver him from Saul (as promised), David became convinced Saul would kill him. Instead of inquiring of God, like he had done so often before, David failed to pray to God and trusted in himself.

There’s a noticeable absence of God from this part of David’s story and a notable deficiency on his end to seek God.

This led David down a path of aligning himself with Israel’s enemies—the Philistines—and committing a host of violent acts against others (1 Samuel 27). God providentially spared David from having to go into battle against Israel, but when David and his men returned to their base of Ziklag, they discovered it had been been burned, raided, and their families were kidnapped. While his soldiers had been loyal to this point, they’ve had enough. They began speaking of stoning David.

“David was greatly distressed” (1 Samuel 30:6). David’s wandering led him deep into a dark wilderness. He hit rock-bottom.

We Are All Straying Sheep

Before seeing where the story goes next, notice how David is portrayed as a fearful, wandering sheep. I don’t think David’s beliefs had changed, but he seemed to set his faith on the back burner as he operated out of instinct. He didn’t pause to ask what God wanted him to do or to let truth recalibrate what he thought and felt. He lived in survival mode, doing what made sense to him from one circumstance to the next.

David was just like us in his foolish decisions and fearful straying. None of us are immune to the effects of anxiety, discouragement, and distress. We all let our thinking and feeling at times lead us into short-sighted choices or rash steps. We can all stray like sheep when thunder strikes. Sometimes that veering from the path can be sudden and dramatic, but other times it’s subtle and slow. It’s not until we look back that we notice how far we’ve wandered from the path.

When we see ourselves in David, we realize how encouraging his story can be. If he felt great fear, if he wandered from the path, and if he made foolish decisions, and yet God extended grace to him and still used him in significant ways, then the same can happen for us.

The Good Shepherd seeks, finds, and brings back His sheep. No matter how far we run, what valley we drift into, or what thickets we get entangled in, God patiently and lovingly pursues us. He brings us back to Himself, back to the still waters and green pastures in His presence. Any believer who has wandered from God, however far and however long, has tasted the grace and goodness of the God who lovingly brings them home. He is steadfast in love, infinite in patience, and faithful in all His ways toward us.

Maybe you can recall seasons where you strayed like David. For whatever reason, your heart and thoughts shifted, and it led you down a path that you’re not proud of or that seems so foolish looking back. And like David, you know the grace and kindness of the God who did not forsake you there or give up on you.

Even in ordinary and small ways, we frequently drift from God. Every time we give in to fear, worry, anger, lust, selfishness, despair, pride, and worldliness, it’s because our thoughts and feelings have led us astray. Instead of being anchored to truth and trusting in God, our hearts and minds confused us or deceived us. Our thoughts and feelings betray us.

When I’m fearful about my circumstances, so often rather than rehearsing God’s promises I start to think about all the things that could go wrong. I try to seize control, I spiral into anxiety, or I get angry at others. I can make things worse by foolish decisions made when I’m ruled by fear and worry rather than faith in God. I can act impulsively and regret it. I can follow my gut, and then a few days later realize my gut didn’t have all the facts. When I’m discouraged and disappointed, instead of setting my heart on God, finding my joy and peace in Him, or reminding myself of all the blessings I have in Him, I sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of discouragement by thinking about all the things I don’t have, what hasn’t worked out, what I don’t like about my circumstances, or even where I feel like God is failing.

When there’s something I want in life that God hasn’t given me, I take matters into my own hands and run after it. I might not pause to pray and ask God to supply what I need or desire. I don’t seek counsel from others. I don’t reflect on why God might not have given me this desire or if it’s truly what I need, but the shininess of that thing (that idol) has a hold on me. I can’t stop thinking about it or scheming to get it. I think my happiness or success is tied up in it. It often starts with a good desire, but it’s not long before the desire becomes a demand and I want what I want more than I want what God wants for me. And so this thing, not God, directs my path.

Or sometimes it’s just the busyness of life that takes me by the collar and walks me like a dog. I move from one thing to the next, never really asking if it’s the best thing. Or I’m so distracted and hurried that I neglect meaningful time in the Bible, in prayer, or with God’s people. I might say it’s a busy season, and my beliefs haven’t changed, but over time my walk with God gets knocked down on the priority list. It’s not blatant and distinguishable sin that’s led us far from God’s presence and path but it’s been a subtle shift over time as other things (often good things) have taken up our time and attention.

There are a lot of ways to wander from God. Not all straying looks the same. But none of us are immune to the effects of sin or the force of fear in our heart, so we should all be honest about how our hearts are prone to wander. And the less our thoughts are anchored in Scripture, the more likely we are to drift from God. The less our thoughts are rooted in God’s Word, the less our heart will be focused on God, and the more likely we are to stray. If we are not walking with God by renewing our mind in His Word, then we will wander from God with thoughts that run counter to His Word.

Restoration After Returning

Picking up the story where David was in great distress, we’re reminded that it often gets darkest before the light dawns. Like the prodigal son came to his senses and returned home (Luke 15:17), when David found himself lost in this dark and deep valley, he returned to God and strengthened himself in God (1 Samuel 30:6).

I think many of David’s psalms give us a sense of what it looked like for David to strengthen himself in God. It included confessing his sins and failures, clinging to God’s mercy, rehearsing the truths of Scripture, praying to God, remembering God’s attributes and promises, praising and thanking God, and resting in the steadfast love and grace of God to His people.

When David returned to God, he not only found strength (in God), and he not only found the help and guidance he so badly needed, but he also found himself being changed by God. David immediately began to pray to God, to be led by God, to be obedient by God, to be helped by God, and even to reflect God in the events of 1 Samuel 30. Not only does God deliver David and restore everything that had been taken from David, but we see God at work in restoring David.

David recognized that it was God, not David, who won the victory against the Amalekites and provided a rich bounty of provision for his army. The people called it “David’s spoil” (1 Sam. 30:20) but David made it clear that it was God’s spoil (1 Sam. 30:23). God’s grace to David made David generous in sharing everything God had given into their hands among both his soldiers and his neighbors. As he spread the wealth with other Israelite villages, he brought blessing upon God’s people.

David also reflected the justice, compassion, and wisdom of God. David not only led his army into victory but he showed great care for his weak and exhausted men who couldn’t fight (1 Sam. 30:21–25). He displayed discernment, wisdom, and leadership in how he handled the spoil situation and the selfishness of some of his soldiers. He was a peacemaker.

The picture of David in 1 Samuel 30 contrasts to the depiction of him when he drifted (1 Sam. 27:1–28:2). He was characterized by deception, lies, and violence when he wandered from God. But now that he walked with God, his character reflected God’s character.

David returned to God, and was not only refreshed by God and restored to God, but he began to reflect God in his words and actions. The grace and generosity David received from God flowed outward from David to those around him.  

Encouragement to Stop Straying

We might be like straying sheep, but Christ assures us that none of His sheep are ultimately lost (John 10:28). We might feel far from God, but we are never out of His sight or beyond His care.. We might walk right into the desert’s prickly bushes or get stuck in a muddy pit, but the Good Shepherd comes to our defense, brings us from a place of danger to safety, and binds our wounds with gentleness and love. God is faithful and kind-hearted to us even when we are faithless and hard-headed toward Him.

David’s story encourages all of us who have strayed that God invites us to return to Him. We are indeed prone to wander, but God is full of mercy and grace. He is the loving Father who runs to meet us. He doesn’t shame us for where we’ve been but welcomes us to find what we’ve been looking for through His presence alone. He is full of extravagant grace.

As we return to God, we experience the reconciliation and restoration we long for. We exchange our running for resting. We give up on trusting in ourselves and receive the wisdom and guidance of God. We stop straying and allow ourselves to be led by the Lord. We experience God’s strength in our weakness, God’s joy in our sorrow, and God’s love despite our sin.

Return to God. Stop the straying. Exchange the restlessness of being a wanderer on the road with the rest of being at home with the Father.

The Star Wars franchise is guilty of overselling the wisdom and strength we can find from within, but they also recognize how much our thoughts and desires can cloud our judgment, confuse us, or conflict within us. This is the experience of Anakin Skywalker, or Darth Vader, from beginning to end. He’s a conflicted character. He trusts himself too much but experiences inner turmoil and conflict because of it. Throughout the film are scattered remarks that highlight the instability of the human heart.

In Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, Obi Wan Kenobi tells his apprentice, “Be mindful of your thoughts Anakin, they betray you.” Then in Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, as the evil Chancellor Palpatine invites Anakin into his presence, Obi Wan again counsels Anakin to be “wary of his feelings.” Master Kenobi recognized that if Anakin didn’t check his thoughts and feelings with truth he was in trouble. The Sith Lord (Palpatine) plays on Anakin’s feelings—of hurt from the Jedi council and love for Padme—as he leads him down a trail of thoughts and lies toward the dark side. Palpatine even uses the same language as Obi Wan, telling Anakin to search his feelings (but by this point Anakin’s thoughts and feelings are clearly perplexed and confused).

Then in the climactic Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi, as Darth Vader tries to convert his son, Luke Skywalker, to the dark side, and as Luke tries to bring his father out of the dark side, both men speak to one another about the complexity and confusion taking place within them. Before meeting Emperor Palpatine, Luke tells Darth Vader that he can feel the conflict within his father. Luke repeats these words only a few minutes later as the two duel with their light sabers in front of Palpatine. Each of the following scenes with Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader capitalize on this inner conflict and tension for both men that leaves their paths and future unclear.

Then as Emperor Palpatine tries to trick and trap the younger Skywalker, Luke doesn’t know what to do in this moment because too many thoughts, feelings, options, and outcomes keep flooding through his heart and mind. Darth Vader feels the conflict in his son. He flips Luke’s words back on him, twice telling him that his betray him as Vader tries to coax Luke to join him. As Luke resists trusting what he wants to do in the moment, he feels a similar struggle within Vader. Luke tells his father that his thoughts betray him as well. Luke senses some light of love and a flicker of awareness of the truth in his masked father. He again tries to assure Vader that he can return to the light as he says, “Your thoughts betray you, father. I feel the good in you, the conflict.” 

Active Rather than Passive

It’s clear that both Luke and Vader experience inner conflict, and the existence of that turmoil and confusion should convince us that our thoughts and feelings aren’t a reliable compass to follow. Our minds and hearts are too easily manipulated by others and too quick to waffle back-and-forth about what we should do.

Your mind isn’t meant to be a lazy river where you sit back and relax but a sailboat where you’re constantly at work to let the wind push in the right direction rather than get off course. You must renew your thinking by letting Scripture reorient your thinking.

This is different from simply “self-talk” or “positive thinking.” I’m not simply suggesting replacing a negative thought with a positive one, but I’m suggesting we replace unbiblical thoughts with truthful ones rooted in God’s Word. I’m talking about letting God’s true and faithful Word be the objective and authoritative voice in our lives rather than anything in me or the voices around me. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes: 

The Christian life isn’t just about thinking and doing, but it’s also about reflecting on our thinking and then renewing our thinking with Scripture (Rom. 12:2). In stress, anxiety, discouragement, or worry, consider whether your thoughts and beliefs line up with God’s Word. 

Instead of listening to ourselves and fueling our thoughts of unbelief we should speak truth to ourselves and feed our faith in God. Stop giving the doubts, whispers, hypotheticals, and lies the microphone and start preaching to yourself.

David’s Example

David offers us an example of how our own thoughts, or heart, can lead us astray. While in 1 Samuel 26, David confidently believed God would deliver him from the hand of Saul, in the time gap between 1 Samuel 26 and 1 Samuel 27 something changed. “Then David said in his heart, ‘Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul’” (1 Samuel 27:1). David had shifted from trusting in what God had said (David would be king) to trusting in what his heart told him (that Saul would kill him).

Because David listens to his heart rather than speaks truth to his heart, he stops living by faith in God and is now driven by fear of Saul. David doesn’t pause to seek God or pray to God, but he lets his gut tell him what he should do. It will be a few chapters before David then hits rock bottom, and out of deep distress, he turns back to God and finds his strength in God (1 Samuel 30:6). We immediately see a change in David as then does pray to God, is led by God, obeys God, and reflects God in the rest of 1 Samuel 30.

In both Psalm 31 and 138, David talks about finding his strength in God in dark and discouraging days. When you read these two psalms, which are honest about the hardship he’s enduring, what stands out is how much David rehearses the attributes, faithful acts, character, and promises of God. David recenters his mind and heart on who God is and what God has done and will do, and this renews his thinking and refreshes his strength. David begins to sing to God, give thanks to God, and trust in and wait on God, and it all happens as he stops listening to his own thoughts and feelings, and instead, he lets the truth of Scripture speak into his thoughts and feelings.

When his eyes looked inward, David’s faintheartedness, fear, and foolishness got him off track. But when his eyes turned upward, he found renewed strength, wisdom, and encouragement in God.

The same is true for us today. While the world around us tells us to listen to our heart, we should be people who are skeptical about our heart because we know how easily deceived and discouraged it can be. Instead, we should let Scripture speak to our heart, correcting, encouraging, and reorienting our thoughts and feelings around what God has said is true rather than what we feel is true.

For more on the practical sides of how to renew your mind, see the following posts:

“10 Ways to Renew Your Mind“

“Renew Your Mind with Gospel-Centered Reflection“

“Renew Your Mind in Community“

ENDNOTES

[1] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures. Justin Taylor quoting Martyn Lloyd Jones https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/talk-dont-listen-to-yourself/

When I began studying David, one question that intrigued me was what it meant that he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). When I asked people what they thought this phrase meant, I heard differing opinions. Some were even bothered by the fact that such a sinful person was described this way. So what does it mean?

Two main answers emerge. The phrase could primarily say something about God, meaning David is selected according to God’s heart and choice. The second option views this statement as primarily revealing something about David’s heart that seeks after God or reflects God. Both are good options. Let me list the support for each and then share how I read it.

Option 1: The Man of God’s Choosing

A key aspect of interpreting Scripture is reading it in context (cultural context, literary context, and historical context). David’s rise, and the use of this famous phrase, take place in the context of Saul’s reign and failures.

Before Saul, Israel was ruled by judges rather than kings. It wasn’t until 1 Samuel 8 that Israel demanded an earthly king like everyone else. After Samuel warned them against it, they protested: “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Sam. 8:19-20; cf. 8:5). Israel acted under their (wrong) assumption that they were missing out or that God was withholding something good from them by having God as their king rather than a man as king.

Israel moved from this false belief about what God wasn’t doing to the lie that a human king would be an upgrade. Their faulty theology led to their failure to trust God and their trust in an earthly as their idol.[1] The throne of a human heart only has room for one person. Either God will sit there or some other idol (god) takes His place, but there isn’t room for two.

This led to Saul, a man recognized for his physical features rather than his spiritual virtues. “There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people” (1 Sam. 9:2; 10:23). Israel wants a powerful, impressive king. Saul is a tall and towering figure among the undersized Hebrews. He was a bit like Gandalf among the hobbits, or like a kid playing youth basketball who hit his growth spurt well before everyone else. 

This context helps us understand how Saul was a king reflecting the desires of the people. “And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you” (1 Sam. 12:13). Israel chose Saul, both in the kind of king demanded and in the sense that they chose him over God as king. Even though God chose Saul as Israel’s king (1 Sam. 10:24), it reflected that Saul was the king the people desired based on their priorities (1 Sam. 12:13).

Despite his military successes, Saul failed to lead Israel well. He proved to be a fearful, foolish, and sinful king (1 Sam. 13-15). Because Saul rejected God’s commands, God rejected Saul as king (1 Sam. 15:23, 26). 1 Samuel contrasts Saul and David in many ways (see “10 Contrasts Between Saul and David”). But Saul didn’t seek God first, trust God in temptation, or obey God. He feared people more than he feared God. The people’s king, with their priorities and prerogatives, ultimately failed them.

That’s why God told Saul the kingdom would be given to another. God’s chosen king would be better, or more fit for ruling than Saul (15:28). Samuel relayed God’s message:

“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Sam. 16:13-14)

This new prince was the man of God’s own choosing. Israel got who what they wanted the first time around and it blew up in their face. This time God would pick a king who would lead them well. This new king would not be defined by his external stature but his internal character, not his height but his heart (16:7). 

When you read about David being “a man after God’s own heart” in the context of Saul’s story of failed kingship, it makes sense why many think this phrase tells us more about God (and His choice) than about David (and his passion or godliness). John Woodhouse writes,

“The expression ‘a man after [God’s] own heart’ has entered Christian jargon, usually as a statement about the qualities of the person. In 1 Samuel 13:13, however, the expression is literally, ‘The Lord has sought for himself a man according to his own heart.…’ This is about the place this man had in God’s heart rather than about the place God had in the man’s heart. It was a way of saying that God had chosen this man according to his own will and purpose…

Here the point to be emphasized is that repeatedly the people had been presented with Saul as the king the people had asked for and had chosen for themselves (see 1 Samuel 8:10, 18; 10:19; 12:13). Things were about to change. The Lord had chosen a king for himself, a king on whom he had set his heart. While it is true that Saul had been described as ‘him whom the Lord has chosen’ (1 Samuel 10:24) and ‘his anointed’ (1 Samuel 12:3, 5), this was always in the context of the people’s demands. The striking new thing is that the Lord would choose a king ‘for himself,’ ‘according to his own heart.’ These things were never said of Saul.”[2]

Before sending Samuel to David’s home, God also told Samuel, “I have provided for myself a king” (1 Sam. 16:1). God didn’t just say He selected a king, but He describes it as providing for Himself a king. God said something similar when he told Samuel, “And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you” (16:3; italics mine). This strikes a very different chord from when God obliged Israel by telling Samuel, “Make them a king” (1 Sam. 8:22).

It’s possible that David’s own words also nudge us in this direction. Years later, when God entered a covenant with King David, he reflected on what God has done for him. “For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant” (2 Samuel 7:21). God had chosen David as king and was now choosing David’s house or lineage for all future kings (especially the coming king who would reign forever). Tim Chester explains: 

‘According to your will’ is literally ‘after your own heart’—the same expression used in 1 Samuel 13:14. David has been exalted because of what was in God’s heart—his sovereign, gracious will. “Saul” means “asked for”. He is the king the people asked for. He is the people’s choice. And his reign ends in failure. David will be God’s choice. And from his dynasty will come the new Adam, the snake-crusher.[3]

This section emphasizes Saul was the man who reflected the choice and priorities of the people (1 Sam. 12:13) but David reflected God’s priorities and choice. Saul was a man after Israel’s heart but David was a man after God’s heart. He was God’s chosen man for the throne.

Option 2: The Heart of David

The second option views this phrase as emphasizing something about David’s heart. His heart sought after God, trusted God, obeyed God, or reflected God. 

Samuel told Saul, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you” (1 Sam. 15:28). Robert Bergen explains that “better than you” here means, “one more careful than Saul to keep the Lord’s commands, was being given to the kingdom of Israel.”[4] If God appointed a new person to take Saul’s place because he failed to keep God’s commands, it implies that this new king will be a more God-centered, obedient, and trusting king. David was far from perfect, but 1-2 Samuel shows that he did (imperfectly) seek God, trust God, and follow God. The psalmist later described David’s shepherding of Israel as being done with an “upright heart” (Ps. 78:72). This is what makes David fit for the office as king under the true King.

More evidence for this view comes from our opening story. When God told Samuel not to look at the outside of a person, God had both Eliab and Saul in mind. What distinguished them were external qualities, such as height and stature. David’s defining qualities aren’t on the outside but are on the inside. God tells Samuel, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). God appointed David, not because he was an intimidating or impressive sight, but because of his internal character, faith, and obedience. God approved of David, not because he was tall but because he trusted in God.

The first full story featuring David was his fight against Goliath (1 Samuel 17). David trusted God enough to fight by faith in God’s power when others hid in fear, and he did so because his heart’s passion was God’s glory and fame. Right away, the author of 1-2 Samuel highlighted the faith, virtue, and heart of David that made him a man after God’s own heart.

David would fall and fail at times, but he returned back to God in humility, brokenness, and repentance. His sin even made him grasp onto the grace of God and made him more grateful to and dependent on God. That’s the kind of imperfect king who can reflect the graciousness and goodness of the perfect King. Kevin DeYoung writes, “David was a great man because he was willing to overlook others’ sin but unwilling to overlook his own… David was a man after God’s own heart because he hated sin but loved to forgive it. What better example of God could there be?”[5]

One other line of support for this line of thinking comes from 1 Kings. When King Solomon’s wives turned his heart toward idolatry and the worship of other gods, the narrator described Solomon as not following God with a divided heart rather than a whole heart. Solomon’s half-hearted faith, or divided worship and partial obedience, is then contrasted to how David followed God with his whole heart.

“For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.” 1 Kings 11:4-6

While not a perfect man, the Bible describes David as a man who wholly followed the Lord, or whose heart was wholly true to God (and not given over to idolatry and pursuing false gods). He was a man after God’s own heart because he gave God all of his heart.

Both/And

I think both ways of interpreting this phrase have strong support because they’re both likely in play. We can’t always take the middle option, and some ideas are mutually exclusive, but I don’t know why that would be the case in this instance. This time, you can have your cake and eat it too (and who doesn’t love cake?). 

It’s true that 1 Samuel makes the case David was God’s sovereignly appointed king. David was a man after God’s heart because he was the man of God’s own choosing to lead Israel. But it’s also apparent that 1 Samuel contrasted David’s faith and character to Saul’s foolishness and sin. Saul rebelled against God and was rejected by God, whereas David as chosen by God and ruled under God. David sought after God, trusted God, and reflected God in many ways.

Neither understanding of what it means that David is the man after God’s own heart should be ignored or minimized. Richard Phillips explains:

“This statement can—and perhaps should—be taken two ways. On the one hand, it can mean that God desired a king whose heart was wholeheartedly committed to him in faith. Saul’s disobedience revealed a problem regarding his heart, which was not wholly dedicated to God. That is why he thought an ‘almost obedience’ would be enough for the Lord. The expression ‘after [God’s] own heart’ can also mean that God desires a king of his own choosing. Saul was the king ‘like all the nations’ (8:5), chosen by the unbelieving people. God desired a king of his own choosing, a king whose heart would express true devotion to the Lord through his faith and obedience.”[6]

God chose and appointed David as His king (in contrast to Saul being their choice), but He did so in part because David’s heart made him fit to be the king Israel needed. 

David better reflected God’s will because He was appointed by God’s will. Because God mattered most to David, what matters to God ended up mattering to David as well. It’s because David loved, worshipped, submitted to, trusted in, and knew God that he could reflect the priorities and character of God.

NOTES

[1] There’s a lot of tragic irony present. Samuel tells them they might think this king will give greater freedom and blessing, but these kings will turn them into slaves (1 Sam. 8:17). They believe a human king is a step forward in progress, but Samuel describes their life under a king as a step backwards, almost like a return to the same enslaving circumstances in Egypt (1 Sam. 8:11-18). Samuel warns them that today they’re crying out to God for a king, but it won’t be long until they’ll cry out to God because of their kings (1 Sam. 8:18). The irony also appears later in 1 Samuel in Saul’s own weakness. He’s much more like the kings of the nations than Israel imagines, which is why he’s driven by fear and pride rather than the fear of God. All idols enslave, disappoint, and fail to deliver on their empty promises. 

[2] John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 235–236. Bold mine.

[3] Tim Chester, 1 Samuel for You, ed. Carl Laferton, God’s Word for You (The Good Book Company, 2014), 91.

[4] Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 174.

[5] Kevin DeYoung, “What Made David Great,” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/what-made-david-great/, 1/18/11.

[6] Richard D. Phillips, 1 Samuel, ed. Philip Graham Ryken and Richard D. Phillips, Duguid Iain M., 1st ed., Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012), 200–201.

Over at The Gospel Coalition, I’ve posted a new article on “Your Wilderness Wanderings Aren’t a Waste.” It overviews the theme of wilderness, spanning from Israel to Jesus, and reminds us that God’s ultimate goal in any wilderness season or situation is “to do you good in the end” (Deut. 8:3). Older TGC articles I’ve written can be viewed here.

You can also read an excerpt from the book over at Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

You can now download and sample chapter one from Your Wilderness Is Not a Waste: God’s Purpose in Suffering and Struggles. This chapter retells Hagar’s two wilderness stories from Genesis. 

DOWNLOAD SAMPLE CHAPTER HERE.

If you’d rather listen to something in the car, I’ve also recently been on the podcasts Equipped with Chris Brooks, or you can download my book on audible. I hope these remind us of God’s nearness in the valley.

A couple of endorsements for my book by Rush Witt and Glenna Marshall are here.

The Bible app, or YouVersion, also a 5-Day Bible Reading Plan you can download.

On Good Friday, we remember the death of the Son of God on a bloody and horrific cross. It seems paradoxical to call such a day Good Friday. How can a day focused on death and suffering be good? How can Jesus being rejected by his people and tortured on a Roman cross be good? To understand more of this mystery, and what Good Friday is all about, it might help to wade deeper into the pool of theology by considering the meaning of the cross. Ultimate victory was at work in initial defeat.

The doctrine of the atonementanswers the question, “Why did Jesus die on a cross?” It explains the meaning behind the Bible’s use of sacrificial language and the blood of Christ. It’s a precious word because it puts the good in GoodFriday, just as it makes the news of Jesus’ death goodnews.

“Atonement is commonly defined as the reparation of a broken relationship that exists between God and his people but that is restored through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ.”[1] The heart of “penal-substitution” is implicit in the name, with “penal” signifying Christ’s death was because of a legal penalty/punishment imposed and “substitution” signifying Christ died in our place taking that penalty. Bruce Demarest explains:

According to this view, sin, which is primarily a violation of God’s law, not his honor, results in the just penalty of death. But in love Jesus Christ, our substitute, in his life perfectly fulfilled the law and in death bore the just penalty for our sins. Expressed otherwise, on the cross Christ took our place and bore the equivalent punishment for our sins, thereby satisfying the just demands of the law and appeasing God’s wrath. As repentant sinners appropriate Christ’s vicarious sacrifice by faith, God forgives sins, imputes Christ’s righteousness, and reconciles the estranged to himself. [2]

Notice two things. First, sin is seen as a violation of God’s law and a judicial matter. Our transgressions (sin or wrongdoing) before a just Judge and holy God bring condemnation and death upon us. Second, Jesus the God-Man bore the penal consequences and penalties of our sins, satisfied God’s wrath against sin, and provides reconciliation and righteousness for us. He is the substitute taking our deserved place and provides the undeserved gifts of righteousness and reconciliation with God—which is received through faith.

 Wrath & Mercy Meet

Let’s consider one passage where God’s righteous wrath and his loving mercy meet at the cross. Romans 3:21-26 follows on the heels of Paul’s conclusion that all men are sinful and deserving of judgment, and no one can be made righteous through their good works (or works of the law). If our good deeds can’t make up for bad ones, and our behavior can’t earn God’s acceptance but demands judgment, what hope do we have? Well the good news (gospel) is we have great hope, but that hope is outside of us and must be given freely by grace.

“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sin. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Rom. 3:22-26)

God demonstrates He is righteous in that He makes sure the penalty of sin (death) is paid in full. Jesus dies because we have broken the law of God and he takes our penalty upon himself. Jesus takes our sin and God the Father demonstrates He is righteous through His execution of judgment. At the same time God demonstrates his justice, righteousness, and holiness by punishing sin at the cross, He also shows the depths of his love, mercy, and grace by sending Jesus to rescue us back to Himself. Jesus loses his life so we can gain life. The Father is temporary estranged from His Son so He might eternally be reconciled to sons and daughters.

This wonderful passage brings both wrath and mercy together. God deals with sin fully in Christ so that we made be fully forgiven in Christ. God is both just and the justifier. He is both righteous, evidenced through His carrying out of the Law and punishing sin, and He is loving, demonstrated in the value and cost of the gift He sends in Jesus to save us.

4 Ways to Respond: Run. Reflect. Rejoice. Rest.1) Run

As we consider the cross and empty tomb, we’re compelled to runto Jesus, to believe in Jesus, to receive the free gift of salvation that only comes in Christ alone by his grace alone and through faith alone. You don’t have to earn it, deserve it, keep it, or work for it. You just have to repent and believe, to turn from your sins and living life your way and turn to Jesus to find forgiveness and a new king. It doesn’t matter how good or bad you’ve been because the best of us still can’t earn it and the worst of us are no more undeserving than anyone else. All of us are equals before the cross as sinners, helpless in ourselves.

This holds true not only to those fleeing to Christ for salvation but also to those who already have fled to Christ. We still run to him because we know how easily we stray away. We run to him because we know how tempted we are to trust in our own “good works.” We run to Christ daily because daily we sin and daily we need the blood that cleanses us, not just on the outside but all the way to the deepest core of who we are. And we run to Jesus because he is our refuge, covering us in his righteousness and assuring us we will be kept safe, no matter what.

2) Reflect

We should also reflecton God’s mercy often. We are quick to imagine God to be against us or angry. It’s easy for many Christians to envision God’s wrath and they assume God is waiting to catch them in their sin. But the New Testament repeatedly reminds us that if we are in Christ, then all God’s wrath has been dealt with and all He has left for us mercy and grace. God is now our Father, the one who delights in us and longs to do good to us. Remember God’s mercy, seen most clearly in the gift of Jesus, and reflect on how that mercy covers your life.

It’s also good to reflect on God’s mercy in our relationships and interactions. God Is merciful, and we should help people see mercy on a daily basis by not giving people what they deserve, but giving grace and mercy. If we mirrored God’s mercy more and the world’s payback and performance mentality less, God’s glory would shine much brighter in the Church.

3) Rejoice

All of this should also cause to us to rejoice. We have many things to thank God for and many reasons to celebrate. Our failures and pasts do not define us. Our sins are forgiven, our shame is taken away, and our filth is washed away. Our future is certain and our salvation is secured. God is fully and forever for us. The Spirit gives us new life and Jesus give us a new identity. God not only saves us from our sin but He saves us into His family. All of God’s spiritual blessings belong to us in Jesus Christ.  Apart from Christ’s work on the cross, none of this would be true. So reflection on Christ’s work leads to rejoicing in that work. Jesus’ death is news, but for all those who have received him, it is good news.

4) Rest

Understanding atonement and justification allow us to rest. When we sin, as believers, we’re tempted to turn back to a “gospel of works.” We think God cannot love me, accept me, or forgive me. Surely this time I’ve blown it or used up God’s patience and long-suffering. This raises doubts about our assurance or steals our comfort and peace. It keeps us from repenting and returning to God immediately because we think we need to put ourselves in the spiritual penalty box, feel guilty for a while, and beat ourselves up before going back to God. Or, if God seems distant from us we believe lies that maybe God is against me, or maybe he’s given up on me.

But the Gospel tells us if we are in Christ, then all of his work is applied to us. Justification means God’s final verdict over us has been pronounced in advance. Our sin is paid for and forgiven—past, present, and future—and we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Jesus never sends away, casts out, divorces, or gives up on those who are one with him. We can never lose the righteousness and the status of justified given to us in Jesus.

If you are in Christ—by grace through faith—then you are forgiven, redeemed, reconciled, and accepted. All you will receive from God now flows to you through Christ, including God’s great love, kindness, goodness, and grace. Christ satisfies God’s justice against you so God can shower his mercy on you.
Footnotes:
[1] Simon J. Kistemaker, “Atonement in Hebrews,” in The Glory of the Atonement ed. by Charles E. Hill and Frank A. James III (Downers Grove:  InterVarsity Press, 2004) 163.
[2] Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation (Wheaton:  Crossway, 1997) 158-59.

Sometimes it’s nice to have a reading plan that takes you through a month or a semester, but other times it’s great to have something for one week. Here are a couple of reading plan options for Holy Week leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

The first option is a five-day reading plan with YouVersion that can be read online or on the Bible app. Each day includes a passage from Scripture and a devotional on one person who walked through a wilderness and experienced God’s faithfulness in their trials or troubles. Finding God in the Wilderness. It’s material similar to but not found in Your Wilderness Is Not a Waste: God’s Purpose in Suffering and Struggles.

The second reading plan consists of daily related readings focused on Jesus and corresponding to the events of Holy Week. Each day includes an OT reading, a Psalm, a passage from Luke, and a Christ-centered text in Hebrews. If it’s too much, you can just follow along with the events from Jesus’s final week that correspond to the day of week from Luke’s gospel.

Palm Sunday
OT: Zechariah 9:9-17; Psalm 118:19-29
Luke: 19:28-44
Hebrews: 10:1-18

Holy Monday
OT: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11
Luke: 19:45-48
Hebrews: 10:19-39

Holy Tuesday
OT: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 110
Luke: 20:1-40
Hebrews: 12:1-13

Spy Wednesday or Holy Wednesday
OT: Isaiah 50:4-9; Psalm 70
Luke: 21:1-38
Hebrews: 12:14-29

Maundy Thursday
OT: Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 116:1, 10-17
Luke: 22:1-65
Hebrews: 4:14-5:10

Good Friday
OT: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22
Luke: 22:66-23:56
Hebrews: 9:11-28

Holy Saturday
OT: Job 14:1-14; Psalm 31
Luke: 23:56
Hebrews: 4:1-13

Resurrection Sunday
OT: Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Luke: 24:1-52
Hebrews: 8:1-13

You can find more resources for Holy Week here and some of my other articles on Good Friday and Easter here.

My daughter is learning in elementary school about recognizing a story’s theme or purpose. She moved past identifying characters, setting, storyline, and plot, and now she’s learning to identify key themes within a story or the larger purpose of it.

It’s not only something we’ve done with stories she reads or movies we watch, but it’s something I ask on the drive home after church on Sundays. For both kids, they can retell me what their Sunday school teacher talked about, but it’s often harder for them to answer the why behind it. Yes, the walls of Jericho fell, but what’s the greater point being taught? The kings of Israel worshipped false gods, but what’s the purpose of the story being told? 

It’s a helpful skill for reading books, watching movies, or listening to sermons and lessons.

In most passages of Scripture, you can boil the overarching point of a story or passage by answering these two questions. What is God revealing about Himself? How are we meant to respond to God in light of that revelation?

The Point of Exodus 6-14

Our church is preaching through the ten plagues. This week, I’m preaching on Exodus 12-13 and the Passover (the final plague). The Passover and the Red Sea Crossing should be held together as one event—similar to the cross and resurrection of Jesus. But all of Exodus so far has been leading to this moment. It is the culmination of God’s command to Moses to confront Pharoah and demand he set Israel free (Exodus 6). 

The plagues that then take place not only bring judgment on Pharoah, Egypt, and their false gods, but they are a demonstration of God’s unrivaled power and glory. The plagues prove God is the true and living God. They humble the hardened Pharoah until he finally fears Israel’s God enough to let them go.

The section of narrative from Exodus 6-14 restates the purpose behind the plagues, the Passover, and even the Red Sea Crossing multiple times. You don’t have to be a mastermind of literature to notice the repetition. God lays out clearly the overarching, ultimate purpose of it all.

God does all these things, so that:

Israel will know that I am the LORD your God (Ex. 6:7)Egypt will know that I am the LORD (7:5, 17; 14:4, 18)Pharoah may know there is no one like the LORD our God (8:10)Pharoah may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth (8:22) Pharoah may know that there is no one like me in all the earth (9:14)To show God’s power and so His name may be proclaimed in all the earth (9:16). [Romans 9:17-23 highlights God’s divine purpose of magnifying His glory through Pharoah, the plagues, the Passover, and Red Sea Crossing.]Pharoah may know that the earth is the Lord’s (9:29)Israel may know that I am the LORD (10:2)Pharoah may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel (11:7)I will execute judgments; [demonstrating] I am the Lord (12:12)I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord (14:4, 18) 

The phrases vary slightly, but they’re all saying that God put His glory and power on display so that all people would know that He alone is God.

God judges Pharoah and Egypt and sets Israel free. He teaches Israel about their need for God’s gracious gift of a sacrificial, spotless lamb to die in their place. He calls them to live by faith, to trust God completely, to believe His promises, and to follow Him out of Egypt into the freedom He provides. But in all these things, God proclaims and displays His glory. His glory is revealed in His judgment and salvation.

Jim Hamilton writes in God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment, “In the book of Exodus, all things find their place with relationship to the central revelation of the glory of Yahweh in salvation through judgment.”

God is no distant Maker who created the world and set in motion but remains aloof and uninvolved. He is no puny Being who sees problems in the world but His hands are tied and He can’t do anything. He is no genie who exists merely to grant us wishes to make our lives easy, comfortable, and trouble-free. He is Yahweh, the Great I Am, the God of unparalleled might and mercy, the God of just judgment who punishes sin, the sovereign God with the authority and power to take down rulers and nations who oppose Him, the God who rescues His people by His grace, the God who keeps every promise and is faithful to His Word, the God who shows steadfast love to His people despite their stubbornness, the God who writes the story and oversees every character and chapter so that it works out for our good and His glory, the God who carries and keeps His people through every trial and adversity, the God who loves us enough to provides His Son as the perfect and sinless substitute to save us from our sins and bring us to Himself, the God who not only sets us free from our past and the world and our sin but He claims us as His own people and calls us to walk in His ways, the God who parts the waters and leads His people to new life, the God of thunder at Mt. Sinai who gives His people the Law, and the God who raises the dead from the grave and offers resurrection life for eternity. 

Exodus reveals the glory and grace of God to us so that we might respond in faith, obedience, worship, and joyful gratitude.

Same Book, Same Message

We should not be surprised this is the purpose of this section of Exodus, or Exodus as a whole, because it’s the consistent message from the first to last page of the Bible. God later told Moses that His purpose—in creation, for mankind, and throughout now and eternity—is that “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num. 14:21).

As the prophets look forward to a coming Messiah and King who would one day bring about God’s eternal kingdom, the purpose was stated this way in both Isaiah 11:9 and Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

When we get to the New Testament and Paul unpacks the amazing riches and the countless spiritual blessings that belong to us in Christ in the masterful sentence that is Ephesians 1:3-14, he repeats the ultimate purpose in God’s salvation of us multiple times:

“to the praise of His glorious grace” (1:6)“according to the riches of His grace” (1:7)“to the praise of His glory” (1:12)“to eh praise of His glory” (1:14)

Paul makes crystal clear that underneath or standing over all the blessings we have in Christ and all that Christ has done for His people, it all points to one larger purpose: the praise of God’s unrivaled glory and grace.

When Paul wraps up Romans 1-11, maybe the deepest and richest section in all the Bible, at the tip-top pinnacle of that mountain he shouts, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!… For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33, 36).

And when you get to the very end of the Bible, which points to what the focus of all eternity will be, what do we see? Jesus will bring Heaven down to a renewed Earth where He will dwell with His resurrected people forever and ever. John wrote, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:22-23).

Jesus, the image of God and Son of God, will fill the entire Earth with the glory of God like the waters cover the sea, meaning there will not be one square inch of the new creation where God’s glory is not fully and majestically displayed and seen in reveled in.

You must see how from beginning to end this is the point of the Bible, the point of creation, the goal of eternity, and this is why you exist as a human being in God’s image today. All of it exists to proclaim the glory, grace, and goodness of God so we would see and savor Him in His glory by worshipping Him, trusting Him, delighting in Him, living for Him, and finding our hope, joy, and peace in Him.

See this larger point in Exodus and see it in all of Scripture so you continually remind yourself not to live for simple pleasures, petty distractions, or lesser purposes. Don’t live merely to live out your dreams, to make money or be successful, to have a happy family, to live for the approval of man, or to live for yourself. Instead, live with your eyes and heart open to the glory of God so that it gives your life lasting purpose, satisfies your soul’s deepest hungers, sets you up for eternal pleasure and peace, sustains you through the ups and downs of life, and enables you to face hope in knowing that death is just a doorway to more immediate and intimate access to what you were made for, the glory and goodness of God.

God saves you by His grace through Christ, not only to forgive you, adopt you, change you, and reconcile you to Himself, but in all these things He wants you to rest and rejoice in His kindness, compassion, power, mercy, grace, goodness, and love. The glory of God is not just the point of the story, but seeing and treasuring the glory of God is the greatest good in your life.