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Dec 20, 2025 06:00am

I Know Him!

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I know him! I know him!

I’m willing to bet someone knows which movie this line comes from! Just imagine an oversized elf who has just caught sight of one of his favorite people—Santa. He was so happy, he started jumping up and down, clapping his hands in excitement (and if you have seen this movie, you know the scene I am talking about!). You see, Buddy the Elf knew this man and his character so well that his first response was joy at the sight of someone who had brought him comfort and happiness in the past.

He was equally devastated when he learned that this Santa was an impostor—not the real Santa. He was angry he had gotten into a fight with a fake Santa, a fight that resulted in him being kicked out of the department store. He had gone from being overjoyed to feeling dejected and lost . . . in just a matter of minutes.

He had placed his confidence in the wrong thing.

He’s not alone. I have been there before. Perhaps you have too. People in the Bible are certainly not immune to such mistakes, either, even those like David, who was a man after God’s own heart. You see, David made a mistake: he ordered a census to be taken of his kingdom. He wanted to know how many able-bodied warriors he had in his army. While this isn’t a bad thing for kings to do, David did it of his own accord, without consulting God.

David—the same man who had fought Goliath, spent years on the run from Saul, overcame a potential coup d’état from his son, and wrote many psalms praising God—put his confidence in the strength of his army over the strength of his God. Perhaps it had been a while since he had experienced a big move of God, like being reinstated as king. Perhaps he hadn’t invested much time in his relationship with God at this time in his life. Perhaps he did what a lot of us can do—place our hope and confidence in tangible things or people we can see.

Once the census was done, he knew he had done wrong. He had that feeling of conviction we all get when we know we have stepped out of line with God and His will. And here’s the thing: God held him accountable for his actions. But here’s also the grace: God gave him three options for punishment—three years of famine, three months of being overcome by other armies, or three days of the Lord’s sword.

Here, friends, is where David might have thought, “I know Him . . . I know Him.” You see, David knew God. David had relied on God’s unfailing love. He had experienced God’s mercy and grace. He knew God.

And because he knew God, he chose to take a punishment from God rather than from men. Three days of the Lord’s sword. And right in the midst of this devastating punishment of a plague, God showed mercy to David and the people in Jerusalem. He stopped the plague in the exact location where the future Temple would stand.

Perhaps this inspired David to write Psalm 30: “You turned my lament into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness so that I can sing to You and not be silent. Lord, my God, I will praise You forever” (Psalm 30:11–12).

Knowing God leads to trusting God, even in the hardest of circumstances, friends. Throughout David’s life, he knew his God in the fields where he shepherded his sheep, on the battlegrounds where he faced Goliath, and in the caves where he hid from King Saul. He had an intimate relationship with God. Yes, he had failed and fallen into sin. And yet, that sin didn’t take him down and out of the game. God was compassionate and gracious to David, restoring him each time.

Reading God’s Word helps us know God and His character in such a way that when those devastating times happen or when we have fallen into great sin, we turn to Him and Him alone to see us through with His unfailing love. Because all those impostors we can put our faith in will fail us at some point.

Whatever situation or circumstance you are in today, friends, surrender it to God. Trust His unfailing love, His compassion, His justice, His grace, and His mercy. Trust the restoration He offers to all those with repentant hearts. Because when times of betrayal, despair, heartbreak, and loneliness come, it’s what can see us through in such a way that we can say, “I know Him! I know Him,” and take joy in the fact that He is working all things out for our good.

“For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).