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| The Obvious Answer by Cadi Nobles |
| And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee. I Samuel 24:4 Reading through this chapter in I Samuel, one can almost feel the excitement and drama. Alternately running to and from Saul, David had suddenly found himself in a very unique situation. As he and his men hid in the shadows of a cave, Saul had come in and simply went to sleep. In this unprotected state, King Saul and his servants were totally vulnerable. With one call to attack, David could have the life of the man that sought his, and the kingdom that God had promised to him. To many (including David’s own men), it seemed as if it were simply a miraculous fulfilment of prophesy. And yet, David did not take for granted that it was God’s will for him to kill Saul. Though many would have viewed it as something akin to disobedience not to take what God has delivered into your hands, David had an understanding that has awed Christians for centuries. He recognized that Saul’s kingship was ordained by God and that Saul himself was anointed. If and when God chose to take the kingdom from Saul it would be by God’s hand and not David’s. Many of the qualities that made David a great prophet and king can be seen in this episode of his life. First of all, David was never so wrapped up in his own sense of destiny that he lost track of were he stood. With all the prophesy and purpose surrounding his life, it would have been a simple thing to forget that Saul too carried an anointing. Yet, this was ever-present in the mind of David and he reminded his men that Saul was a king by prophesy too. Secondly, his faith in God was complete. He didn’t feel the burden of capturing a kingdom or taking a throne. It was God that had promised the kingship to David and it would be God that delivered. Also, he did not assume that because God had placed him in a position of authority that it was meant for him to use the full extent of his power. This shows the humble heart of a shepherd that God loved. There are many times in our lives where the will of God seems so “obvious” that we might not stop to ask the right questions or to seek what our purposes are. But God is not looking for a servant that assumes what his duty is, he is looking for those that will seek the guidance of the Master in every situation, and listen for His reply. Many Christians will never gain the place in God that they were meant to achieve, because somewhere along the line they began trusting in their own instincts. Comfortable with their salvation and satisfied with their revelation, they will never know the depth of God that they might have attained or the purpose that they were meant to fulfill. Like David, we must have faith that God is able to do more in a situation than what appears to us. Our trust in God cannot be limited by the options that we see. As we grow deeper in the faith, we have to acknowledge that His ways are not our ways. And the path we chose by nature, will always be the path of destruction. God’s plan may not be the most obvious, in fact, it may seem obscure and impossible to understand. But, somewhere, there is a servant, like David that will follow God’s leading and fulfill His purpose and desire. |
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