Have you ever danced with joy at what God has done? What would convince you He’s that good? It’s okay to see you need evidence.

In a scene from the movie King David, starring a young Richard Gere, David dances before God and all of Israel as the Ark of the Covenant is brought into Jerusalem. David throws off his self-contained “dignity” to express his overflowing joy and gratitude for who God is and what He had done for David.

David Saw Evidence of God

Throughout Scripture we see David’s joy, heartfelt worship and strength. Also throughout Scripture this springs from his intentional focus on one thing – something many people miss. We see that one thing here: David’s encounters with the evidence God had given of His reality and His love.

All of us try to discover what is true. We use facts and information from sources all around us to form our beliefs, and to decide that we can trust what we believe. We learn through personal experience, for example, or through the experience and testimony of others. We learn we can trust in these beliefs, which in turn gives us confidence to live our lives according to the beliefs we’ve arrived at. That’s what evidence is about.

In his writings and in the conduct of his daily life, David focused on evidence he’d seen that God exists. He spoke often of how he know God was present and was  working in his very own life. David repeatedly drew attention to God’s nature and what God had done.

God’s track record of faithfulness and power, both in David’s life and in the greater world around him, gave him good reason for joy, confidence and empowerment.

God Makes Himself Known to Us

We may not have the same signs in front of us that David had, but the process for us is still surprisingly similar. God makes Himself known to us through real signs of His reality (Rom. 1:18–21; 2:14, 15). Just as he gave the children of Israel signs to justify belief in Him (Exodus 4:5), so has He given us sound reasons to our faith and trust securely in Him and His word.

God has given us evidence not only in our own lives, but incredible historical evidence for what Jesus has done for us. As apologist and philosopher Lydia McGrew says, “God ‘writes’ with real events in history.”

God does this to fulfill our rational need to have good reason for our beliefs, so we can put our trust in Him both rationally and reasonably. More than that, though, He does it for the sake of relationship. It’s one way he lets us know, “I’m with you!”

More Evidence of God in David’s Experience

David had evidence of God in his own life, and so can followers of Christ today.

Just take another look at how that worked in David’s life. Saul had expressed doubt that David could pose any match for Goliath:

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” (1 Samuel 17:33)

But David brings the glory and the focus back to what he had seen: the evidence that God is capable of delivering him:

But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

Again in 2 Samuel 7:8-9, God reminds David of all He had done for him. For David it was clearly evidence he could trust the promise God was about to make to him:

Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

There’s More For You, Too

David had evidence of God in his own life, and so can followers of Christ today. But that personally-connected evidence is just the beginning. There’s plenty more evidence, available to everyone through records of history, creation and more. Knowing this evidence will boost your faith in a dramatic way. It will also equip you with the “food for thought” to give people outside of the Christian faith.

For more faith-growing information on the historical evidence for Christianity you can find FREE resources at historicalapologetics.org.