Join me, as I Discover the WAY, through the TRUTH, towards the LIFE.

Jun 8, 2006

A life that can bless other lives


David had in his heart to show kindness to Saul's family, because he was anointed, but then there were the Zeruiah's sons, Joab and the rest, who were bent on killing them all. It was for the 'good cause' so to speak, because it would make David king. But this is not what David had in mind. After the death of Saul's important man, Abner, "38King David said to his servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39And I am this day weak, though anointed [but not crowned] king; these sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!"(2 Samuel 3:38-39) .David kept his conscience clear before God, no matter what people might have thought.
Now, after David is crowned king, at the age of 30 yrs, he goes for the first battle against the Jebusites. The Jebusites had been living in Jerusalem. When David went there to take it back, the Jebusites "...said to David, You shall not enter here, for the blind and the lame will prevent you; they thought, David cannot come in here. 7Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the City of David."(2 Samuel 5:6-7). Those people discouraged him, nevertheless, David took that city.
As we read on, we see the Bible records " 10David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him."( 2 Samuel 5:10). Not only does the Bible record, how David's life was turning out to be after all that running for life was coming to an end, it also records, David's relationship or spiritual growth in the Lord "12And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel's sake."( 2 Samuel 5:12) . In spite of all the fame David was receiving, his foundation was firmly established in God. He knew where he had come from and how God had led him thus far.

Lessons I learnt:

  1. There are no short cuts in God's plan.David could have easily killed all the people coming in between him and his becoming a king, and he would become a king, after all he was anointed. But then for David, God's statutes were of more value. It was critical for him to obey God's Word, in the time when Saul was in his hands-one blow away from death, at the time when Saul and his sons died on the same day-when it could have been a day of joy for him David mourned for them, at the time when Saul's important man was killed by Zeruiah's sons-the main guy behind the plot of making Saul's sons king was gone-David cried and grieved at how wrong but powerful Zeruiah's sons were. If David would have taken these short cuts, they wouldn't have been a 'genuine' victory, because God never asked David to kill Saul or his sons to become king.Moreover David knew God's commands too well.Psalm 119:11 (Whole Chapter) "Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You. ". David was not fulfilling a 'given outcome' by becoming king, he was living a life with God.
  2. When God is with you, it will be evident in your life-Its true that David was running once upon a time for fear of being killed by Saul. He could trust no one.He was hiding in caves, eating whatever he could find. Now thats not a lavish lifestyle of a king. He eventually had to live in enemy territory for a year, before he actually returned to his own country.However at the end of it all, we see the Word of God says "10David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him." (2 Samuel 5:10). Just because, David was staying in a cave to hide from Saul, we can't settle that, thats what God wanted from him. God hadn't finished with David yet. Thats just a temporary situation. How can a nomad, become greater and greater and a king staying in a palace become weaker and weaker!!! The essence of David's greatness was in the fact that "The Lord of hosts was with him". The Word of God says "Matthew 1:23 (Whole Chapter) Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel--which, when translated, means, God with us. [Isa 7:14 ] " Also Jesus said "John 15:5 (Whole Chapter) I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing." David knew that apart from God he could do nothing.He knew how important it was for him to stay connected to God and it showed through his life, in spite of all the trials, in spite of all the chase, David became greater and greater.
  3. David perceived -12And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel's sake."(2 Samuel 5:12)
    It is one thing of God being in our lives, but it is another thing to be aware that a Living God is working in our life. David acknowledged and was able to see how God was working. David knew he wasn't becoming a king on his own strength, he wasn't owning a city by himself, he could see God's hand working in his life. Many times when we have believed God and God does something for us, we start thinking oh thats because 'I' worked hard, 'I ' prayed hard, 'I' did it.....but here David knew/perceived (became aware of, achieve the understanding) that God had done this. This is an awesome knowledge that any believer can have, to know, to be assured that God has established. Its knowing that A Living God is guiding you, it strengthens your faith, and you would know how beautiful, and fearful the knowledge is that God chose your and my life to be an example to the masses.It is a knowledge of humble devotion and honour to God for doing so, with a life, that would have just gone by, if lived at their own desires.

Conclusion:In our life too, we will get many short cuts that would lead us to probably where you 'think' God would like you to be, but when our desire is to find out what God would have us do with our life, and then see how God orchestrates everything to fall in line with His pleasant and perfect will for our lives, our lives can become lives of impact, lives that would not only be a blessing to us, but also to his people. Thats what happened to David, God made him king, for what? For His people's sake, he was to be the king who would be remembered for years and years to come, beyond the time that David would himself be alive. More than that, the Messiah Himself, our Lord Jesus, would be from his lineage. Isn't that an awesome blessing. Thats what happens to lives totally devoted to living according to God'w Word and His plan. No one can thwart God's plan for our lives, lives yielded to bring glory to our Living God.

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

That is true sometime we see the visions that God is going to do in our lives, and we want to take a direct path. When God wants us to learn and grow in faith before reaching our final destination. As long we walk beside God and do what He wants we can't go wrong. Great post.

Sushanth Abhishek said...

talking from a scientific perspective, a survey was conducted among a group of people who have carried a grudge or anger against somebody for a long time. when MRI scans were done on them, it was found that they reduce their capability to do many things in life as a whole section of their brains(nearly 10%) are pre-occupied with thoughts on how to get back at the people who hurt them. while another research which was conducted on a group of people who always wanted to do good(most of them were Christians), showed that a large portion of their brains were free compared to the earlier group, thus allowing them to achieve so much more in life. going by this, how much we want to achieve today depends on us. are we carrying unforgiveness in our lives today? we only harm ourselves. giving this hurt to God can help us overcome it.

Doug E. said...

Great blog here. I look forward to checking out more of it.

God Bless,

Doug

Karuna said...

-Dear Pastor Josh, Thank you for always being there to support and encourage.

-Dearest Goofy, so you finally made to the blog world..may you shine out for our Lord.Hey your comments much appreciated...I didn't know this one.

-Dear Doug,
Thank you so much for visiting.

God Bless y'all