Just a quick thought that's been coming back into mind somewhat often lately.  So many times I hear people (or sometimes myself) talk about wanting to be "Deep like David" or have a faith like David, King of Israel and mighty warrior, author of so many psalms.

But how often we forget that in order to be able to write such deep, inspiring, uplifting psalms, those words that touch us in places that not much else can touch, David had to go through some of the most harrowing and personally stressful and intense situations that the world can throw at a person -- and that a person can bring upon himself.

In other words, we so often want the depth without the distress, the passion without the pain, the annointing without the agony.

Now, I'm not saying we need to adopt a medieval-monk, personally-painful lifestyle that dictates we need to put ourselves through as much pain as possible to somehow draw closer to God.  I am however saying that sometimes us asking the Lord to give us strength and depth and boldness like David without being willing to go through any of the momentous things David went through to become strong and deep and bold is just, well, ridiculous.

It's like asking the Lord for patience without being willing to ever wait in a line.

It's also showing the fatal flaw in our thinking: we think that people are strong, deep, and bold without actively recognizing that those people weren't just born that way, they became that way.

Before they could be built up -- the working definition of the word "edify", by the way -- they first had to be broken down.

Be willing to be broken...it very well may be the only thing standing between you and the virtues you seek.  Being broken but still in the hands of a loving God and Master potter is the absolute best place to be.

In His service, and yours,
jason