“King David Recognizes the Father Heart of God”
The Lonely need God’s family
Psalm 68:4-6a, “Sing to God, sing in praise of His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him - his name is the LORD.” A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…
David understood loneliness. As a shepherd, he spent many nights isolated with his sheep. When King Saul was pursuing him in the desert, David lived under the starlit desert sky, in damp, dark caves, by hidden desert streams, and in other lonely places cut off from the mainstream of his people, Israel. Where did the future King go to find relief from his isolation and loneliness?
King Saul neglected his duty. For many reasons, King Saul had a responsibility to mentor and invest in the life of David. The father role does not always fall on a biological person; the title of “spiritual father” does at times come to the purview of any man who opens his spirit to the Lord. In this case, however, King Saul turned from mentor to tormentor and from his fatherly responsibilities to a distrusted enemy! Rather than dispelling David’s loneliness, King Saul’s actions intensified it.
David found relief for his loneliness and isolation. David recognized that relief from his loneliness came through praise and worship of God, the LORD! He may have felt fatherless at times, but he considered God, the Father of the fatherless, he understood that God placed him in an unexpected family. His family was not the mainstream of Israel but the rugged outcasts of Israel who fled to the desert to join David’s ragtag band of brothers. This group of ragtag outcasts eventually became King David’s mighty men who propelled him to the throne of Israel!
Find your solution for loneliness in God, the Lord! Today, loneliness and isolation often sneaks up on us. We are promised satisfaction of our need for connection through social media ( how many friends do you have on Facebook?) and through other superficial means. Maybe you find yourself in a desert, with many people around you, but limited connection to any of them. Cry out to the God of David! He promises to father the fatherless and to place the lonely in unexpected families where care and genuine nurture are found.