1 Samuel 17: 34-37, “ 34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
A few weeks back the LORD laid it on my heart to elaborate on the need for His saints, the disciples of His Word, to be on guard and be prepared. Life has a way of bringing ministry opportunities when we least expect them or when we believe we may not have time to walk in His calling upon our lives. Have you ever noticed that someone requests assistance, a word of encouragement or just an ear to listen when you have something you believe is more important to attend to? You may be on your way to take care of something urgent and out of nowhere, someone you have known for a while but have not heard from in several months calls and needs someone to pray for them or maybe someone just to listen.
I find these times interesting because if your life is hectic and you live by a timeline or the calendar as I tend to, this could create a dilemma making the choice in front of you difficult. If we are not mindful of the circumstance, one strategy of deceit we find this world to promote is a tendency to focus upon a timeline or a task while overlooking the opportunity for ministry that is being presented. Focusing upon things to do tends to lead us away from God’s will which is focused upon people to serve. As we dig a little deeper, let’s look at the story of a teenager named David before he was a King when he accepted the challenge of a giant named Goliath on the battlefield.
David, later to be King David had originally traveled to the battle between the Philistines and Israel to deliver food (grain, bread, cheese) to his brothers and the commander of the army. In essence you could say David was an Uber Eats employee before they officially incorporated. While visiting with his brothers that he might take word back to their father, David hears Goliath, the Philistine, yelling the regular taunts against Israel that had been occurring for the past 40 days. David noticed that as Goliath began to taunt the Israelite Army, the Israelites would draw back in fear and lose their heart to fight. This surprised David and in 1 Samuel 17:26 he asks, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
As a man of God entering this situation, David had a different perspective when confronted by this giant. David for years had been spending time with the LORD in the fields and honing his skills to be ready for the time that they would be needed. As we noted above, David was not there to fight, he was not even enlisted within the military when this opportunity came forth that he may stand for the LORD and follow his calling. The message for today is stay prepared and ready for the opportunities ahead that allow the LORD to utilize your ministry in service to others. David had not gone there to fight, however in the end this event was a steppingstone to his destiny as a King after God’s own heart.
As we read 1 Samuel 17 and study out this chapter, we can take away several aspects that prepared David for this moment in time but took his self-discipline to attain to. One is, David did not take advantage of nor waste the quiet time God had given him while tending to the sheep and goats in the field. David spent this time worshiping the LORD and honing his skills with the sling shot.
First, we see evidence of David’s time spent with the LORD in his strong commitment on the battlefield. When the enemy came against Israel, rather that shun back in fear, David stepped forward in faith. This strong foundation of faith was not born in the moment, please remember David was a teenager among many fighting men and Goliath was over 9 feet tall and skilled at fighting. The environment, the spirit within the Israelite army was one of fear and if David had not remained focused upon the LORD, he could have been infected with this same spirit. Rather, from his time in the field worshiping and spending time with the LORD, David’s faith was developed to the point that when the enemy stepped forward, David stood strong in the name of God Almighty and declared victory over the circumstance! This is an attribute we should all strive for in prayer and study. The time will come when as a believer your faith will need to overcome the moment, but to do this, your strength in the LORD must be elevated prior to that moment. This requires discipline and self determination to remain in worship, in prayer and in the study of God’s Word.
The second aspect that we should notice in addition to David’s increase in faith was his confidence in the LORD. We notice his confidence in verse 28, “But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
The battle on the field was not the only obstacle David had to overcome. David did not have the support of his brothers who challenged why he was there and his true intent. Within verse 28 Eliab refers to David’s instilled confidence as pride, which at times a person’s confidence in the LORD could be mistaken as pride. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit and walking in God’s will, your demeanor has a God instilled presence that can sometimes be mistaken as pride. As a believer walking in God’s anointed discernment, you will be able to recognize the difference between pride (focus upon self) and God’s confidence (conviction for His will). In this instance, David was so filled with faith we can discern his persistence as confidence and not pride.
Lastly, David took the opportunity in the wilderness to hone his warfare skills. Not knowing what was ahead or even why he should continue to practice, committed to the LORD and in his obedience, David took the opportunity in the quiet time to practice, worship, meditate and pray upon the LORD. Not knowing why or when he would be called but being ready and patiently waiting upon the moment. As believers, sometimes misled by society and the notion that we should always be doing something to stay busy, we miss the quiet times when God desires for us to build our inner resources for the unplanned moments we will experience in our God ordained walk. Those times when we receive a call or Holy Spirit prompts us to check on someone, those times that don’t fall within our calendars, but line up with God’s will of service for our lives. As believers we are called to serve and not be served and to do that, we must be ready in the LORD and His will for our lives.
This next year I pray that each of you willfully and knowingly take advantage of the down time, the quiet times provided that allow you to spend time with the LORD, in His Word, building you up that you are ready for the “moment” when you will be called to be the difference. May your hearts be filled with His Peace, your souls with strength and your minds made clear and filled with discernment as you live a life pleasing to the LORD and His will. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray.
Shalom!!
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