YOUR OPPS MAY NOT COME FROM WHERE YOU EXPECT!
DAILY WORD
1/1/24
20. So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. 21. Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22. David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
24. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25. “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
26. David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
27. And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”
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!”
29. “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30. He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31. Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
1 Samuel 17: 20–30
Today’s Passage returns us to The Story of Samuel after a lengthy hiatus at a critical juncture in the tale’s progression. David has been secretly Anointed King by Samuel in a covert ceremony to which no other Israelites were invited. Samuel’s actions may have been Directed and Initiated by God, but that didn’t mean King Saul wouldn’t kill them all to preserve his position if he ever caught wind of it.
If that wasn’t already too close for comfort, remember that David, after his Anointing, was called to the King’s Palace to soothe his ill temperments. Saul had lost God’s Favor through his recalcitrant disobedience, and as a result, he was saddled with an evil spirit God sent to torment him. David, a skilled harpist, was called to play whenever Saul was in a foul temper, and the spirit fled for a time.
But that put David in a delicate position. If he ever displeased Saul or the King found out he was next in line for the Throne, he would surely kill him. But something else happened as David began to grow on King Saul. Saul began to love David. He cared so deeply for the boy that he asked Jesse, David’s father if he could stay in the Palace indefinitely.
Imagine Jesse’s fear when Saul first requested his son’s presence. Well, that fear helps constitute Today’s First Lesson. Sometimes, after He Calls us to His Service, God will Place us in terrifying positions. It may be to Test our Faith or simply to Set us Up for our eventual and inevitable Victory through His Power.
But if we allow fear in and balk or resist His Call, we may miss out on the very Blessing that will shift us into His Purpose. Never fear God’s Positioning. It may be the exact thing you need to accomplish His Work. Understanding that God Works in Mysterious ways is one thing; it is another thing entirely to accept and embrace those Mysteries.
So, now David has been sent home while King Saul and the Israelite army go out to fight The Philistines who have gathered on their borders to wage war. After a few weeks, when the battle hadn’t ended, Jesse sent David out with a care package to see how his older brothers and the army fared.
When David arrived, he saw the Israelites’ fearful reaction to The Philistine Champion, Goliath, a giant who stood before them, cursing and defying God’s Army every day for weeks. He couldn’t understand why they all let him bellow and insult God when they had Him on their sides. But when David asked the question aloud, his oldest brother became angry, accusing him of arrogance, and therein lies Today’s Second Lesson.
When you have Godly Boldness Derived from His Power at Work in your life and present that Boldness before individuals who are not displaying that Spirit but cowering away from the fight expect opposition, and those opps may not come from the direction you expected.
Our Godly Boldness comes off as arrogance to those who do not share in His Power. That is what David is facing in Today’s Passage. When David was Anointed in Verse 13 of the previous Chapter, it tells us The Spirit of The Lord came upon him. That means that David harbored a Power that none of the other Israelites could boast, dwelling within the adolescent body of young David.
No wonder Eliab was so annoyed with David. He couldn’t feel the Righteous Indignation seething through David. All Eliab could muster was fear. And who could blame him? They faced a literal giant who fully intended to kill whoever stood against him. And he was certainly capable of doing so.
But sometimes, as God’s Hands, the individuals Called to His Service, we have to face giants. Giants of fear or potential death, giants of peer vilification or social expectation, but we cannot fall to them. We must face our giants head-on if we ever expect to prevail over them. We cannot let them overcome us in our fear when we have the Tools at our disposal to defeat them.
If God has Called you to His Service, then He will Qualify you for that Service. Never let fear cripple you because all those giants can really do is roar. All of their bluster is just that, noise because God has Given us the Ability to Win through His Strength. We have no need for fear because He will Fight our battles.
When you face giants, lean into God’s Power. He has all you’ll ever need to prevail, even against your most intimidating foes. But don’t be surprised if you encounter opposition from those who should be fighting alongside you. Not every warrior is fearless, and not everyone should be. Because if God’s Grace does not Protect you, fear may be your best option!
Have a Note Worthy New Year, And Never Forget God Has Not Given Us The Spirit Of Fear But Of Love, And Of Power, And Of A Sound Mind!!
