In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked. The LORD said, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the LORD answered. – 2 Samuel 2:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 18, 2016): 2 Samuel 2

One glance at any political campaign and it is easy to come to believe that one mistake can define a life. It is amazing the dirt that can be gathered on any one of us. For most of us, as long as we don’t run for public office, our mistakes remain safely hidden in our pasts. But then again, sometimes we run into people who seem to just want to remind us of what we used to be. The thing that we miss is that we are all “used to be’s.”

This verse seems to simply form a transition from the reign of Saul and the reign of David. We are not sure how long “in the course of time” really was. But the reality is that this verse is more than just a transition, it is a transformation. And in this moment in time that was exactly what David required. He had to be transformed from what he used to be, to what God desired him to be.

It had been about fifteen to twenty years since David had been anointed King of Israel by Samuel. But those years had left a mark on David. They had started well. David was the winner of the battle with Goliath. He had become a successful general. But then, in the shadow of this success, things began to change. Saul was angry with him. He chased him away from the palace and away from his friend Jonathan and his wife Michal, who just happened to also be Saul’s daughter. He had hidden in various places. And then, with his faith at an all-time low, David had left and had made his home with the Philistines.

When Saul dies, this is where we find the future king of Israel – in Philistia. So what comes next? Did the lack of faith that David had struggled with over the past few years disqualify him from being the future King of Israel. Would God even want someone like him as his servant on the throne of the nation? How long should he wait so that he did not look like an opportunist trying to take advantage of the sudden death of King Saul? Or maybe God had given up on him, just as he had given up on God. It is with these questions in his laying heavy on his heart that David begins his inquiry of God. What would you have me do?

And God’s response is simply that now is the time – in the course of time – for David to return home. Yes, David had made mistakes, but that did not disqualify him. And yes, we have made mistakes, but that doesn’t disqualify us. The trick is to keep moving forward – and to keep inquiring of God.

I love Henri Nouwen words in “The Genesee Diary.”

He who thinks that he is finished is finished. How true. Those who think they have arrived, have lost their way. Those who think they have reached their goal, have missed it. Those who think they are saints, are demons. 

David was not going to allow any of that to take root in his life in this moment. He did not see himself as the king or the anointed of God. Rather, David was just a pilgrim on a journey home. David was a “used to be,” just like the rest of us. And yet he was still used by God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 3