“Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face continually”. (1 Chronicles 16:10-11)” The word “face” was commonly used to describe God’s presence. David experienced this daily, and now, as ruler, he wanted the whole nation to join him. And he believed the Ark’s presence (God’s presence) right in their midst would help them stay focused on the Ultimate King.

Whether you realize it or not, the God of the universe made you in His image and has planned for you to rule with Him over part of His creation in this world and the world to come. You may not be stepping into His design and your destiny, but His plan was expressed in the triune God’s first statement about us.

Let us make man in our own image, according to our likeness, and let them rule. (Genesis 1:26)

For this glorious reality to occur, God must take each of us through a process to train us, removing the ravages of sin and self that have malformed us and re-forming us into the image of His Son. Only then can we become those to whom He can entrust great work.

Shepherd to King

Young David was such a man. He was the youngest of many sons whom no one would ever dream would be used by God. But at an early age, God chose him from all of Israel to become the greatest king in Israel’s history and perhaps all of human history. But it was not without suffering, waiting, hurting, and learning.

After years of development, David was finally exalted as King. His first order of business was to bring the Ark of the Covenant, which represented God’s presence, into Jerusalem. David knew that everything flowed from God’s presence. He had experienced this personally, and now, he wanted to build an entire nation on that belief.

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