In light of everything mentioned in the previous post, Are You Hoping For A Breakthrough? part 1, let’s briefly review King David’s journey to becoming king of Israel…
He was anointed by Samuel at a young age, but he wasn’t crowned until the age of 30. Do you realize all that he endured throughout those years?
Hunted and harassed
He was harassed by his brothers and attacked by someone that was like a father to him. He was hunted and relentlessly pursued by the king of Israel (the same father figure, King Saul). Eventually, he had had enough to the extreme measure that he joined ranks with Israel’s enemy almost fighting against his own people.
Throughout this distressing period of his life, David was given charge of hundreds of men. It started out as a small group of family and followers and later grew to be 600 prior to his reign. He did not recruit or pursue these followers, they joined him voluntarily.
It wasn’t until King Saul was killed and David went through a terrifying test which proved to be his “final exam”. That was arguably the most stressful test of that period of his life, when his town of Ziklag, was razed by the enemy who kidnapped the wives and children of him and his men.
1 Samuel 30: 1 Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. 2 They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.
This monumental test causes his most beloved followers to turn on him. Picking it up in verse 6…
6 David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him.
With God’s help and guidance…
But David found strength in the Lord his God.
7 Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. 8Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
They were able to retrieve their wives and children…
18 David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. 20 He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. “This plunder belongs to David!” they said.
And all was restored!
(Isn’t cool how God allowed him to be tested in this way, yet all was restored and no one was killed? Can you say “Hand of protection”? Note that this “hand of protection”, was there not only for David, but also his followers, for David’s sake. )
Shortly after this we read that David was made king. It wasn’t David’s decision, but the people of Judah chose him.
2 Samuel 2: 2…So David and his wives 3 and his men and their families all moved to Judah, and they settled in the villages near Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came to David and crowned him king over the people of Judah.
God prepared him from a small boy and now he was ready. Not only that, through this process he established solid relationships within his team that yielded an undying loyalty towards him. These same people matured as he matured and they worked together with David in his new role as king.
Don’t give up hope!
This may be a good time to reflect on your own life and consider the trials and challenges you’ve endured. Think about how God has been molding you with skills, talents, and abilities. If you are sincerely seeking after God’s heart you can be rest assured that He is preparing you for something greater, and should you persevere, God will use you in a great and mighty way!
So remember to remain faithful to the responsibility that God’s already given you and thank Him for the opportunity of serving Him in that role today.
Galatians 6: 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
“Dear Lord, you are good. Thank you for the wisdom you give us in serving others around us. Help us to stay focused on your Word and the daily tasks you’ve put before us. Give us the patience we need to endure so that we can excel in peace. You are so good, thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you. In Jesus’ name, amen”
Photo by Sergey Turkin on Unsplash