DAY 1

FIRST MOVES

JOHN MACDONALD, LEAD PASTOR, THE WOODS CHURCH

Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of ObedEdom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.” 2 Samuel 6:12–15

In America when a new president takes office, they choose what their first political move will be. What they do first, especially in the first 100 days, will often define and either make or break an administration. The first move is vitally important.

King David was stepping into leadership in one of the darkest, most broken moments in Israel’s history. The nation had drifted so far from God that His presence wasn’t even on the radar anymore. The Ark of the Covenant, what once marked the center of Israel’s spiritual life, had been sitting untouched and forgotten for forty years. Forty years! That’s an entire generation that lived without any real pursuit of God’s presence.

And here comes David: a shepherd boy, worshiper, warrior, and now king. And what’s the first thing he does? He doesn’t build a palace, or strengthen his armies, or roll out a political plan. No, his first move is to go after the Ark of the Covenant. That’s not just bold, that’s a whole new kind of leadership. That’s a man saying, “We’re not moving forward without God.”

First moves matter. They reveal what’s in your heart and what you value most. David could have done a hundred things first, but he made it clear: “God’s presence comes first, no matter what.”

He gathers thirty thousand men, not to fight a battle, but to bring back the ark. He’s not just making a spiritual statement; he’s making a national declaration. He’s saying: we’re not going to be like Saul, who treated the presence of God as though it was optional. We’re going to be a people centered around God again.

That one move set the tone for the rest of his leadership. And it wasn’t just a good strategy. It was a prophetic act. He was saying this nation will not be built on politics, power, or pride. It will be built on God’s presence. He is the center of everything.

Let me ask you a question. What’s at the center of your life?

Because whatever is at the center will drive everything else. For Saul, it was his image. It was fear of people, pride, and performance. He built his kingdom around himself—and eventually lost everything. But David built his kingdom around the presence of God—and that changed everything.

When David brought the Ark into Jerusalem, he wasn’t just checking a spiritual box. He was crowning God as King again. He danced before the Lord with all his might, not caring who saw him or what they thought. His own wife, Michal, looked down on him with contempt—but David knew what mattered. He wasn’t dancing for applause. He was dancing because the presence of God had come home.

And then, in the very next chapter, we see David sitting before the Lord. He is just sitting in His presence. No fancy words. No religious performance. Just a man who loved God, sitting with God. And out of that posture came one of the most beautiful prayers in all of Scripture. David didn’t come in with demands, he came in with wonder. He prayed in 2 Samuel 7:18,

“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far?”

David didn’t just retrieve the Ark, he reorganized the entire nation around it. He set up 24/7 worship, hired thousands of musicians and singers, and invested the equivalent of over a billion dollars in today’s economy to host God’s presence. That’s wild when you think about it. But it tells you something: David believed that when God was in His rightful place, blessing, peace, and provision would follow.

And he was right.

Israel flourished under David’s leadership because David stayed connected to the source. He didn’t depend on his strength or strategy. He lived from a place of worship and humility. He built from the inside out.

Maybe today you feel like the presence of God has been sitting off to the side in your life: forgotten, neglected, or just not prioritized. Maybe you’ve been running on empty, trying to fix everything yourself. Maybe your life, like Israel’s, needs a re-centering.

Here’s the good news: it only takes one move.

One move back toward God. One decision to stop everything and say, “Lord, I need You at the center again.” That’s what David did. And God honored it with favor, blessing, and lasting impact.

David’s first move changed everything, and yours can too. Revival didn’t start when the people got their act together. It started when one man made God the priority again.

So what’s your first move today? What would it look like for you to reorder your world around the presence of God? What might God do if He were truly crowned King in your life again?

Let’s be people like David. Let's be bold in our worship, humble in our hearts, and hungry for God above all else. Because when God is crowned King… everything changes.

PRAYER: Father, we confess that we’ve often put You off to the side. We’ve chased other things and hungered for things other than You. We’ve tried to lead, parent, build, and fix from our own strength. But today, like David, we make our first move to put You at the center. Jesus, bring us back to what really matters—Your presence. Give us a hunger and passion for you that will never wane. Awaken a holy desperation in us. Tear down our pride and self-sufficiency, and help us to rebuild with You at the center.

We crown You King of our hearts, our homes, and our church. And we pray that Your glory would fill every part of who we are. In Jesus’ name, amen.