WEEK TWO

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lordsaid, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

As Saul, king of Israel, became increasingly hostile to God’s guidance, the Lord privately directed that a young man named David be chosen and anointed to replace Saul.  This commission triggered an abrupt redirection in David’s life, but it would be a mistake to assume that a smooth advancement was in store.

God had selected him as king, but Saul certainly had not.  In the coming days it would become more and more obvious that his path to leadership wasn’t going to be comfortable or short.  He would be chased, accused, threatened, and abused both verbally and emotionally.

David’s story would eventually authenticate him as great leader, but his story (like most) would take more time to advance than he expected.  It would be messy. It would be difficult. And it would take longer than expected for God to fulfill what He had promised. God picked him to lead, but God was not yet finished developing his character.

We often view this story through the lens of God choosing David not based on his outward appearance but by looking at his heart. While this is a legitimate focus we can take, we can also look at this story through David’s eyes. It was altogether a momentous and confusing time. How could David be anointed king as a youth when Israel already had a king? David did not know all of the details, but throughout the coming years, God would bring it to pass. Throughout the process, David could look back with assurance on his anointing.

Maybe there is something in your life that you are waiting on the Lord to do. Behind many of God’s promises, there is a process. In our impatient culture, it can be tempting to want to skip out on the process and advance to the promise, but this misses the point.

We esteem David as admirable not because his life was flawless, but because he was whole-hearted!  He sought the Lord after his sinful failures – and he sought him after his victories.  We can choose to do the same.  But it will require choice.

Will you seek God regardless of what life throws at you?  You may have to live down consequences of old sins, but even successes from pure-hearted obedience can bring unexpected and confusing results.  It’s tempting to demand an explanation from God.

Keep your eyes on the goal.  He will build your character, but there will be uncertainty.  Will you trust him in the confusion?

Will you trust him when life is messy?  Or will you only be patient and trusting if he make things comfortable and easy?  God isn’t finished with you.  Faith must be tough.

As we saw last week with Abraham and as we will see this week with David, there is great danger in attempting to expedite the will of God in your life. We must continually live in obedience in His Word and live life with a great sense of assurance in the Lord.

Perhaps as we have talked about all that the Lord is doing and wants to do in our church and through you, the task seems too daunting. The cost is too much. The effort is too great. The future is too unknown.  We worship a God who does not want us to stay in our comfort zones, but to grow and to do. Like David, we do not know all of the details of how we’re going to get there, but we do know that we can take one step of obedience at a time, faithfully following the Promise Keeper.

• Has there been a time where you have tried to accomplish something for God in your own strength? How did that go?
• Do you find it difficult to wait upon the Lord? Why?
• Why is there often a process for the promise?
• What promise of God are you clinging to right now?
• What practical step of obedience can you take today?