"For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" ( Phillipians 2:13)
The public life of King David is well known. However, there is an early aspect of his life quite hidden though we can get glimpse of it. The first time we get to know David he is a stay home kid while his big brothers are on to bigger stuff, like fighting with King Saul. "Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem" ( I Samuel 27:13-14).
Left home alone perhaps it was a time for David to bond with with the old man Jesse. Maybe he sometimes felt idle and ignored. But there was something maturing in his life for the life ahead. For in the meantime as he would later point to King Saul once an opportunity availed itself, God was ironing out his CV. When he offered to take on Goliath and Saul hesitated, he quicky shot back: "Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine" ( vv 35-37).
That's the point. What had apparent been idle moments God was preparing David for the battles ahead. He would not only emerge out of the shadow as a great warrior but also a shepherd of his people ever relying on God.
Equally so, for all of us, there are moments that might appear idle and we feel frustrated as we see the days go by. Yet, in His gentle ways, God is preparing us for great days ahead.
Prayer today: Lord Father God, maker of heaven and earth, for those periods in life of apparent inactivity and maybe trials, help me appreciate them as the maturing of a great tree, for in due time and season it will bear fruit, this I pray in Jesus'name
Related upcoming events
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02/05/2024 - 03/05/2024 All day“That is why for Christ’s sake I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10)
We all crave to be blessed in life. But was there a believer who was so blessed beyond any circumstances without experiencing some sort of discomfort, in one way or another! A person may apparently be blessed in every single way yet have one troubling matter that constantly drives him down to his knees.
The one mightily blessed with riches may have a family situation that leaves him ever on edge. Someone who seems to be at the height of his profession may be living with an ailment that keeps him ever on tentacles. The one blessed with abundant health might from time to time be dealing with financial woes.
Why do such troubling situations plague even believers? One explanation could be found in the Apostle Paul’s life. Called into ministry and endowed with many gifts, including amazing revelations from above, yet he had a matter that constantly drove him on his knees. “Therefore in order to keep me from being conceited, I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me” (2 Cor 12: 7).
Paul would often cry out to God to free him of this particularly troubling matter. But the Lord came back with, “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Cor 12: 9).
The comfort of this lesson is that God is completely aware of whatever might be ever troubling us. Moreover, it could be purposely there, that we constantly place our faith in Him, other than relying on our strength and resources, especially as He blesses us in other uplifting ways.
Prayer for today: Lord Father in heaven, today I pray that whatever matter is constantly troubling me, I know it is for a purpose and you are in total control, to bless me even more, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
