Dove Awards: Reverent WonderSample

Reverence: Declaring Our Devotion in the Dark

By: Miel San Marcos

In the scriptures, the Lord describes David as “a man after my own heart.” God anointed David as Israel’s future king because He knew that unlike King Saul, David wouldn’t use the power of Israel to build his own reputation, but to proclaim God’s glory.

But David wasn’t a rabbi and he didn’t study theology at a university. David graduated from the caves. 

It was there in the dark, hiding out from the jealous, murderous King Saul and his army that David learned much about reverence and trust. He had no family, no friends, and no familiar comforts. He was just a young man in the dark, forced to look at himself and his God. 

David learned much when the lights went out. We catch glimpses of his experience in the Psalms. We know that he was depressed and overwhelmed (Psalm 142). But we also see David, in the midst of his lament, tap into a deeper understanding and a reverence for God that would define him as king in the years ahead (Psalm 57, Psalm 34).

God met David in the cave and, as David expresses in the Psalms, from times of deep despair rose an unshakable reverence for God. 

Reverence flows from adoration and awe. Reverence becomes part of who we are as we experience God and recognize the position of authority and power he holds over our lives and over this world. 

God came near to David in his cave and David was filled with awe. But God doesn’t stop with David. He is also our refuge and protector in times of trouble. When we understand this on a personal level, then, like David, we can declare our reverence from any cave and say:
 

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall 

continually be on my mouth. 

My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; 

The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, 

And let us exalt His name forever.” (Psalm 34:1-3, NIV)

Response: Do you express reverence or resistance to God in hard circumstances? What steps can you take to develop a deeper sense of reverence toward God? 

Scripture: Psalm 142, Psalm 57, Psalm 34