He can kill giants. Capture fortresses. But can he subdue self?

At last David is king. He can defeat the Philistines. But can he resist a beautiful woman? People of passion reach for God, burn for God. They kindle an answering passion in others. David cartwheeled in the streets at the coming of the ark. He was magnanimous to Mephibosheth. Even willing to die for his son. He was a man after God's own heart. But when his passion got out of bounds in the matter of Bathsheba, David reaped a bitter harvest. Amnon's rape of Tamar. Absalom's murder of Amnon. Absalom's rebellion and tragic death. The numbering of Israel and the plague that killed thousands.

The record reads like a soap opera-but with a happy ending. God caused David to pass through the furnace, not to consume, but to purify. In the end he could write, "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing" (Ps. 30:11, NKJV). May God cause your soul to dance as you plumb the God-saturated heart of the king.