David already had three wives, but as he adds more and more, the story gets worse and worse. According to Deuteronomy 17:17, kings were not to multiply horses, store gold, or multiply wives. Knowing the Word, David knows this.

David is very flawed. He has a propensity to lie. He’s tempted by women. He has an ego that we’ll see in the next part of the chapter. And yet overarching, he has a passion for God. We can have a tendency to say, “Sure, I sin. But I don’t sin nearly to the degree David did.” But that’s the wrong perspective entirely. Don’t measure your sins against David’s. Instead, measure your virtues against his. David killed a giant. David danced before the Lord with passion. David wrote psalms. David was a lover of God. David was given to prayer. David praised God continually.

Am I a giant killer? Am I laying down everything for my Lord? Am I a poet and a prophet, a singer, dancer, and warrior for God? Are you? How strong is my passion for God? Can I truly say, “Only one thing have I desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after - to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple?” (see Psalm 27:4).

Where did David get this passion for God? It was developed in the pastures as he watched his sheep and in the caves as he fled from Saul. It was developed through prayer, through spending time with God.

Maybe the Lord is whispering in your ear, “I see in you the same potential.”

“How can this be?” you ask.

“Because I put David in that place,” He answers. “I gave David that kind of grace. All He did was respond to My tugging and whispering.”

The path to passion is not mysterious or even mystical. It’s very simple and practical. When the Lord says, “Get up and pray,” you say, “Okay.” When He tells you to take on that giant and share your faith, say “Yes.” When He inspires you to write a love letter to Him, grab your pen. It is not up to us to generate the fire of passion. Our job is simply to stir the coals through faithfulness and obedience (2 Timothy 1:6).