Words: 1965
Tale of Three Kings Assignment But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. ” (1 Samuel 16:7) “A Tale of Three Kings” is a book that can offer hope to the hopeless, and healing to the brokenhearted. This is a book that will help you to look inside yourself and see If the desires of your heart are truly pure. People will read this book and get a genuine understanding of what it means to be an honorable and humble servant of God.
We are introduced to three kings that each possess different characteristics based on the intentions they have hidden In their hearts. Do you have a jealous, angry, and proud heart like that of Saul? Do you have a heart of evil, betrayal, and rebellion like that of Abyssal? Or can you truly say that you have a pure heart; filled with love, forgiveness, and submission to God, like that of King David? Throughout the bible we see how God uses broken vessels and imperfect people to carry out His purposes.
I believe the author’s intention and main theme was to show the hurting Christian that there Is hope If they persevere and submit homeless to God. In order to do this you need to have a heart transplant by removing the selfish, immoral beliefs that Saul and Abyssal have placed within us. When we learn to break down these barriers and change our hearts, only then are we able to change who we are as a person. The desires of our heart can have such a stronghold on us to where we aren’t able to see things that are true, noble, pure, and lovely.
We become more Interested In the things of this world Like power, wealth. And reputation; all which have no eternal value. The bible says in (Matthew 6:21) “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Nelson, 1569) Another major theme that I picked up from this book was how David would always surrender himself to whatever he believed the Lord’s will was. He went through many painful trials with tears in his eyes; but in the midst of all of his agony, he would always praise God. During his years as a Sheppard and Into his early years as a king, he was the perfect picture of a yielded servant of God.
He didn’t fear anything he had to face because he knew God was with him, and he fully trusted that the Lord would be his strength. When you read the Psalms that David wrote you see many different motions and feelings, but through every emotion you see how he always praised, trusted, and brought God honor. A theme that I deeply appreciate In this book is the self-control David showed by not retaliating to the people that were trying to harm him or shame him. Saul was looking to murder him, and David had the perfect opportunity to take Sail’s life, but he didn’t hurt him.
David stated many times that if he got even with Saul or Abyssal it would make him no different than them. One line I deeply admire is when David says, “Any young rebel who raises his hand against a Saul, or any old King who raises is hand against an Abyssal, may -? In truth -? be raising his hand against the will of God. In either case I should raise no hand! Wouldn’t I look little strange trying to One of Davit’s greatest attributes was the way he could stay so patient in dreadful circumstances. When everything was being stripped from him and Abyssal was taking over the kingdom, he stayed calm and put his faith in God’s plan.
David goes on to say, “l did not fight to be king, and I will not fight to remain king. May God come tonight and take the throne, the kingship, and His anointing from me. I seek His will, not His power. I repeat I desire His will more than I desire a position of leadership. ” (Edwards 75) This is such a statement of surrender; to follow whatever plans God has for his life and to fully trust the Lord’s decision. David knew that everything within the kingdom, and whoever became king was all part of God’s plan. Another thing that I appreciate in this book is how David stayed pure in heart and never spoke evil against anyone.
He lived an honorable life as a servant of God who didn’t retaliate against anyone who was trying to injure him. Plus, David was compassionate, friendly, and worthy in the eyes of the Lord which gave him a good petition. People started to notice that he was different and others wanted what he had. He was looked at as a leader; but not a leader who used power, rather a leader in his purity, sincerity, and goodness. People could see he had a heart that loved God and he would honor the Lord even in his darkest days.
This is admirable and people saw this characteristic in him and wanted to be around him because they could see the Lord’s favor upon him. This book identified with my entire life, as well as with my present situation. If God has a university for the broken, hopeless, and suffering, then I am definitely enrolled n His school. I don’t claim to have God’s authority, but I do know God’s hand and favor are upon my life. I have been to the deepest, darkest, most painful places you can imagine, both internal and external. I have suffered an extreme amount of pain in my life, and I am still going through the storms.
I have been stuck in this hopeless, painful, depression for about five months now and I can’t seem to find a way out. I pray to Jesus asking Him to take away this hurt from me, and to rescue me every day. I have people praying for me and over me constantly, but nothing works. I do trust God and have complete faith that He is with me, because I know there is no way I would have made it this far if I wasn’t here for a purpose. Some days it’s hard for me to wake up because I know I’m going to have to face these trials and pain. Even though I am in such a dark place right now, I continue to bring God glory, honor, and praise in everything I do.
I still do my best to be there for others who need me, and I still serve Christ with an abandoned and surrendered heart. I spent so many years believing in what Christ did for me, and it made my Christian life feel stagnant. I have decided to not only believe in Jesus, but to follow Jesus as well. I try my best to die to myself daily and carry my cross. Living this way has ignited a flame in me that has made me on fire for the Lord again. I can relate to David perfectly, with the way He would cry about life and then turn his tears and sobbing into praise.
When I’m feeling down I Just look up, because I know my Savior, my Father, and my comforter are all with me. It’s been a very rough road for me most of my life; doing 36 months in Jail; I have been to 17 inpatient treatment centers, and detect and hospitalized more than I can count. Then I suffered the brain injury which causes me complications daily. Vie learned to play it off real personal enemies that attack me, but I do have Satan who knows my weaknesses attacking me daily. As soon as he sees an opening he Jumps on it and tries to take me out.
I’m a lot like David in several ways; I have a heart that’s after God’s heart, I’m very weak and fragile on the inside, and I have no fears because I know god is with me. I will continue to use this loving, compassionate heart of mine in my ministry. I can relate to not paying back evil for evil because I know one day they will pay for their actions. I have such a Love for others to where I always put other people before me. I try to lead most people I meet to Jesus for the glory of God, so that His Kingdom can strengthen. The king Saul in my life is the enemy and Abyssal I my ex fiance.
My last few months have been lived in sorrow, shame, and pain which send me into to tears anywhere. I learned long ago that if I continue to dwell in my sins and my emotional pain, then I have no faith in the finished work of the cross. This book has definitely helped me see that no matter how depressed I feel at the time, I still need to praise God in Christ and give Him all the thanks and glory. No matter how bad life seems, I always have something to be grateful for; and that is for God sending His only Son to die for my sins so that I can live with Him forever.
I believe the trials, valleys, and darkness I am going through right now is to test my faith and see how I respond. I believe God doesn’t let you go through life hopeless and hurt to break you; instead He gives us trials and suffering to make you and recreate you. If I continue to praise God through these storms I know there is a blessing waiting for me up ahead. I Just have to act life David and say “Father whatever your will, I will obey. This is how I am going to live my life from this moment on. I have to keep my life at the center of God’s will like David did.
Another thing I am trying to practice that David did is to stay patient and know my timing is not the same as God’s timing. I’m at a point in my life where everything is being stripped from me; I lost my fiance, I lost my best friend, I got my license taken away, I’m on house arrest, and I’m all alone trying to face this world without help. I know Jesus is with me, but I wish He would give me a sign. I also need to remember that we will never be fully happy here on earth, because we don’t belong on earth, instead we were made for eternity.
Our time on earth is the tryouts before the big game to determine where we spend eternity. My favorite attribute of David is his heart and how pure and loyal it remained to the Lord. Yeah he did some pretty bad things, but in all honesty who hasn’t. We all sin and that’s why we have Jesus, so we can live a life of victory. We are all going to make mistakes and sin but we need to remember that God’s grace is greater than our sin. And if we mess up we ask for forgiveness; but watch this – we aren’t sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners.