(Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13)
Today I will continue with “Faith and Patience Volume 5 – Greater is Coming!” we are studying the life of David. Let’s get into it.
David is a grace-case from start to finish. He was called into his destiny while he was minding his own business, going about his daily routine, tending to his father’s sheep. David had no idea that God was about to perform a significant act in his life when one of his brothers ran out to get him from the field. I could just imagine the conversation. It probably went something like, “David, hurry up; you need to get home right away. There is a prophet in our home, and he is looking to do something with one of us. He already looked at each of us, and now he is waiting for you.”
When David arrived, still smelling like sheep, the prophet quickly anointed David’s head with special oil in an informal, yet extremely significant, ceremony. The Bible says, “From that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power” (1 Sam. 16:13). From that moment, David became known as an “anointed one” or “the LORD’s anointed.” From that moment, David was God’s designated leader for the nation of Israel. He was 17 years old.
What had David done to deserve this honor? Nothing. Apparently his family agreed. They didn’t even invite him to his own coronation. Besides, historically, a new king had to be the son of an old king. Jesse was no king and David was no prince. This was not a natural selection. It was a spiritual one. David’s selection was not a birthright, it was a divine appointment. David was not selected because he earned it, he was selected because GOD CHOSE HIM by His unearned grace!
God picked David, even though he was not from the right family. God picked David, even though he was the youngest of Jesse’s boys. God picked David, even though he did not do anything special to deserve it. God picked David for his divine assignment. Guess what? He did the same with you!
As soon as the impromptu coronation ceremony was over, you would think that the clouds would open up, that a voice would come from heaven, or that the prophet would escort David to the palace so he could take over the throne from Saul. None of that happened. The prophet left. David rubbed the oil off his forehead. David’s brothers went back to whatever they were doing. David went back to his sheep. None of them could truly understand what had just happened.
God had transitioned the power for national leadership from Saul to David in the spirit, but in the natural, it would be over a decade before David would physically assume the throne. This is the point of this series. David had to wait on God. David had to stand on God’s Word. David had to believe God’s promise. David had to wait patiently and serve faithfully in order to SEE (in his hands), what the Lord had already done (in his heart).
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. One of the most important aspects of walking with God and making the most of the ONE LIFE you have been given is understanding that God made plans for you before you were born. God did not make these plans because of anything you did because you obviously had not done anything yet. God made these plans solely based on His amazing and unearned grace. David did nothing to earn or deserve his call. He never even imagined he would be the King of Israel. But it was God’s plan for him. He accepted it. He believed it. He waited for it (ultimately for 20 years). In the end, because he had faith and patience, he became the man he was destined to be. If we have faith and patience, the same will be true for us.
2. You have already and will continue to experience divine moments in your life. During these movements, God shifts things in the spirit and sets things in motion in the natural. When He does, your heart must be open to BELIEVE and RECEIVE what God is REVEALING. You don’t have to understand it, but you do have to RECEIVE it. If you REJECT it, God will have to keep working with you to expand your capacity to believe to the point where you can RECEIVE it. But even after you muster up the faith to believe it and to perform actions, in faith, in accordance with it, you will need patience. The patience part is the hard part. Once you get past the enormity of the call, and you get to the point where you can SEE YOURSELF the way God sees you, believing what God believes about you, you will then have to wait on God’s timing. This is why you need faith and patience (Heb 6:12).
3. When God reveals something to you that He already planned, because He speaks from the perspective of eternity, He will say it in a way that sounds like it is already done. From God’s viewpoint (eternity), it already is. God is outside of time. So He looks down through the annals of time and sees it already play out before Him. This is why when He communicates His plans to us, they always come across as NOW! God speaks to us from the position of the ETERNAL NOW! However, for us, in the earth, what God said is NOW may not manifest in TIME for weeks, months, years, or even decades. Our requirement then is to live by faith until we see the manifestation in the earth of what God revealed to us in our hearts.
4. Living by faith and developing patience is not easy. Imagine you are David. You were just called out of the field. A prophet just help and ordination service in your home, in front of your family. You were anointed to be the next King of Israel. The Spirit of God just came upon you. You feel God’s presence like never before. You know this is God. You know you are different. You sense the enormity of the call. The power of God is on you so strong that you feel weird. You have never felt this way before. You know your life has changed forever. You now know you are destined to be KING. But then the prophet leaves, your brothers go back to doing what they were doing, and your father sends you right back out into the field.
Imagine how hard that was for David. He had to go back to his old life, knowing he was called to a new one. He had to be faithful over sheep when he knew he was supposed to be leading people. He had to process what had just happened while he had current duties and responsibilities. Not only that, but his family did not treat him any differently. They did respect what God had just done. They did not acknowledge the call or the anointing. He was still trying to digest his destiny while they were pushing him back into his history.
I know what that’s like. I know how it feels to be stuck between your history and your destiny. I know what it is like to know you are called to do something, but you are not free to do it yet. You have to be faithful over today, while you wait on the tomorrow God promised. And the fact that God promised it is the key. David did not ask for the call. He never wanted to be king. This was God’s idea. When you know that you only want something because God put it in your heart, but then again, God has not released you to walk in it yet, it can be very hard. It’s hard to enjoy your present when you know your future is calling. But you cannot allow your expectation of tomorrow to cause you to lose your joy today. This is what this series is all about. This is why faith and patience are so important.
5. In the space between the promise (in your heart) and the performance (in your hands), I recommend you do two things. First, remain faithful to the call. While it may not happen for months or years, you can take steps daily and weekly that take you incrementally closer to the fulfillment of the promise. Second, live every day with divine anticipation and expectation in your heart. True anticipation will fuel your faith, and it will keep your heart open to receive from God while you wait.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You made plans for me before the world began. You were thinking of me before I could do anything to earn your attention. And after I was alive, I ignored You and went my own way. I was completely undeserving, but You pursued me anyway. You loved me enough to track me down, even when I had no consideration for You. You saved me by Your amazing grace. Not only did You save me, but You CALLED ME to an amazing life. I now live my life BY FAITH, pursuing what You birthed me to do, knowing that I will take decades to walk OUT all that You have deposited IN ME to the fullest! I live every day with an acknowledgment of Your plans, with an expectation that fuels my faith, and with an amazing excitement, because I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
