Elephant in the Room
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At the Lord’s command, Samuel has gone to Bethlehem to choose a new king. He’s impressed by all of Jesse’s sons, but God has a different plan and the youngest, David, is brought to the prophet’s attention. David’s heart is turned to the Lord which makes him the right choice to govern God’s people.
As I read the story my thoughts immediately turned to something David would write years later after that heart had turned from God. In his psalm of repentance David writes: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit with me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10-12, NIV).
Often people ask how it is possible for us to be removed from God’s presence when we have promises from the Scripture that indicate that He will never leave us. Two things stand out here.
One: God is everywhere. His presence fills every nook and cranny in the universe. It would be impossible for Him to absent Himself from anywhere. So I understand this distance to be more “emotional” than “physical,” like two people in a room who are not on speaking terms.
Two: The promises of God’s presence, of being on “speaking terms” with Him are dependent on our obedience. David discovered that when he turned away from God and made the choice to allow his heart to focus on his own indulgence rather than on God’s will, the bond between him and God was broken. Though God was there, it was as though He was not—they were not on “speaking terms” because of David’s sin.
We aren’t told how David’s sin affected his ability to rule, his relationship with his people. Perhaps, from all appearances, everything was normal. But the God who sees inside knew better. And David knew it too—he felt the absence of the One who was still with him but detached from him because of the choices the king had made.
When David acknowledges his sin, he also says these words: “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place” (vs 6). We often try to deny that there is “an elephant in room” in our relationship with God. David must have tried that too. Now he admits that he should have acknowledged the “elephant” long before God had to send the prophet, Nathan, to confront him with it. He’s learned the lesson—one God taught him.
God sees the heart. Though we may be able to fool some of the people some of the time, or even all of the people all of the time, God knows us inside and out. But until we are willing to admit to ourselves the truth about the “elephant,” we will never be able to get past that feeling that though God is present, we walk alone.
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