Confidence, Courage, and Waiting

Big Idea

Tension: How did David get true courage and confidence?

Resolution: By waiting on the Lord when God didn’t give him a big temple.

Exegetical Idea: David got true courage and confidence in the LORD by waiting on the LORD when God didn’t give him a big temple.

Theological Idea: True Christian courage and confidence comes by waiting on the LORD in the midst of disappointment.

Homiletical Idea: We can have confidence in the LORD and courage in this season by waiting on the LORD in the midst of disappointment.

Outline

Introduction: How can we have courage?

Extraordinary Confidence (vs. 1-3):

Confidence in the LORD - The LORD is my light and salvation (vs. 1)

Exodus 15:2 (ESV)

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

He is confident enough to let enemies fail (vs. 2)

So he is not afraid when enemies will encamp and then arise (vs. 3)

Extraordinary Disappointment (vs. 4-6)

The desire to see the LORD - in the temple

We so often, so easily tie our desire for the Lord to other things

David’s desire to build a temple (2 Sam 6; 1 Chr 17) - temples are stable, they’re royal, they’re successful. They’re powerful symbols.

Contrast this with the tabernacle.

God says no.

Yet he says I’m going to keep praying for this.

God gives him a “no” and a “yes.” So we see in vs. 5-6 that God says he will “hide”, he will “conceal,” he will lift up the “head” over his enemies.

Yet, God says he will hide him in his “shelter,” which means “booth”. And tent. In other words, God says, “I’ll show you myself, but not how you want.”

Here’s the disappointment, God says, “I won’t giv eyou the thing that you want, but I’ll give you myself.” If God doesn’t give you what you want, is he still enough for you?

David’s response is “joy.” David somehow was able to get to the place where he coudl rejoice at God’s no.

Extraordinary Grace (vs. 7-10)

Be gracious to me - he is going to readjust his focus. Even though he can’t see the Lord in the temple, he just wants to see the LORD. And he demands that God would answer him in his request, which is to see the face of the Lord.

“I will seek your face” cannot be understood apart from this passage… to see God’s face, in other words, is to see God’s grace.

Numbers 6:24–26 (ESV)

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

God is his salvation - God has not cast him off. He hasn’t forgotten him.

God has taken him in even when father and mother won’t.

You see, David came to realize that this luxurious temple, this royal estate, this symbol of power and authority, was not necessary to see the Lord. God showed him his power in weakness, God showed him his order in chaos, God showed him his permanence in impermanence, God showed David himself even in an extremely lackluster world. And isn’t that what Christ is? Isaiah 53:1-5

Isaiah 53:1–5 (ESV)

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Extraordinary Humility (vs. 11-12):

David knows that his enemies are still there and recognizes they still pose a threat

David’s solution to this is that the Lord would teach him.

Unless he learns how to live wisely, he will fall before his enemies. David knows that he needs to be taught. It takes humility to know that.

David knows that he needs to not take God’s grace for granted. yes, God has given him this deep knowledge of himself, yet he also knows that is no excuse for sinfulness or foolishness.

In other words, the way to continue to experience God’s grace, is by humbling oneself to learn from the LORD.

Extraordinary Courage (vs. 13-14):

He has confidence that he will look upon the goodness of the LORD like MOses

In the land of the living -resurrection

Wait on the LORD. (vs. 14a,d)

This can only come through disappointment.

That will overflow into strength and courage - like Joshua.

Application:

Embrace Disappointment! When God doesn’t give you what you want, God is trying to say, “Am I enough for you?”

So Wait for the LORD! That is the source of true courage.

Don’t take God’s grace for granted. - Don’t slap grace in the face! If you think you have nothing to learn, you definitely have nothing to teach. Only by hearing God’s word preached and taught will you avoid the failure that comes.

Be strong and courageous. Often this world seems like we are getting no bang for our buck, it seems like it’s all night no day, it seems like it’s all dusk no dawn. But be strong and courageous. Keep waiting for the Lord, but keep trusting and believing that he really will be enough.