Looking at David in such depth is a revelation. Last time I posted about how David was in a cave, hiding from Saul, not yet in his rightful position as king, yet he drew to him those in distress, debt and discontentment. It parallels Jesus, Who drew the sick, the poor, the sinners and the lost to Him wherever He went. People who are desperate and broken, people who are hurt and rejected, they're looking for answers, they're looking for comfort and the only true answers and true comfort is found in Jesus. If we look at Acts, we see that the people were drawn to the apostles, they sought them out to get healed, and they thought that they were gods! They had something that drew people to them. That something is God. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they operated in His power and love. David was annointed and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him mightily (1 Sam 16 v 13) so he operated with the same kind of power and love as the apostles and Jesus did. Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, expect to see the sick, the broken and the lost gathering!
But it's not the person that is drawing them, it's the annointing working in and through them, and this power dwells in us! So does that mean we will draw the sick and the lost and broken to us? Well, yes it should. We have the best news to tell in the whole universe. We have the honour of personally knowing the wonderful God of the universe. If we're walking in the Spirit of the Lord like David, and like the apostles in Acts, then we should find that people come to us for answers, because we know the One Who can heal, restore and save. Are we seeing this? If not, why not? Are we stifling the Spirit of the Lord?
Taking all this into account, we need to ask ourselves what are we doing, and how are we conducting ourselves? Are we being good stewards of God's word and God's annointing? Are we being faithful in what God has given us to do, and standing faithful in where He's put us?
David stood in the fields with his flock of sheep faithfully whilst his brothers were set apart for more honourable duties. He didn't rebel against his father and decide to do his own thing. The way we conduct ourselves in church and towards our church leaders needs careful consideration. The man of God (or woman of God) will not always get things right. They won't always make the right decision in certain areas, and we might not even agree with them on every single detail in scripture. However, there's a clear pattern that Christ laid down for us that we should be aware of, and that is - each church has leaders appointed and we are told to honour them. Whether we agree on every matter or not, if we are planted in a church, we should be yielding to the ministry and the leadership, and being a faithful and supportive member of the body of Christ. Rebellion, strife, divisions, quarrels and gossip all weaken and split churches. Paul often warned against this, and he urged people to be respectful and to honour the leadership they were under. We would do well to take a leaf out of David's book who whole-heartedly respected the position that Saul was in, regardless of Saul's actions. David refused to dishonour him, and refused to take his life, even though Saul was seeking to kill him! The respect that David had stemmed from his respect and reverence for God. He understood that God appoints the position, even if the person fulfilling it isn't doing it well. How many times do we see David honouring Saul, telling his men that he won't attack him when he was given ample opportunity to? He wouldn't do it because he respected God. Yet how many people gossip about their leaders? How many criticise their pastor - a hardworking man or woman of God who are probably doing their best?! We need to take a good look at David's conduct because the way he honoured Saul was impeccable, especially given as Saul was seeking to kill him.
I have digressed somewhat, so back to the point. Whatever we've been given to do, we should do it in the right spirit, wholeheartedly, as if for the Lord. That extends from our jobs, to our home life, to our church life. Whatever we do for the Lord is not in vain if it is done with faithfulness, love and a pure heart. David was serving his father, tending his sheep to his best ability and he was being prepared for greatness. God is preparing us for our next victory just like He did with David. Even in our own "cave days", God can use us for blessing, like He did with David. We'll always have a choice to make - remain or give up. Anyone could understand if David gave up; being on the run from a mad man wanting to kill you isn't the easy road. It takes a lot of heart, courage and faith in God. He could very easily have acted in dishonour by complaining, murmuring, cursing God, yet He didn't. Instead he constantly called out to God, worshipped Him and honoured Him - and Saul. Many of the psalms were borne out of David's struggles and actually we see his heart growing closer to God in worship. David was a true worshipper with a heart for God, and renowned for his faithfulness (1 Sam 22 v 14).
What will we be renowned for? What is borne out of us when we go through trials and tough times? Songs of worship? Or a stream of complaints? A determination to bless the Lord, no matter what and to continue honouring the leader? Or curses and backbiting and strife?
I think this quote from John Holt sums it up very well:
'The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do.'
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