How was David such a success not only when it came to the battlefield, but in his daily life, as he waited for God to fulfill His plan to make him king over Israel? First and foremost, God was on his side. First Samuel 16:13b tells us that as soon as Samuel anointed him, “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David” and stayed on him “from that day on” (NLT).
So “David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him” (I Samuel 18:14). Nowadays every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but I don’t see every Christian having enormous success in everything they tackle, do you? What’s the difference? David not only had the Holy Spirit with him, but he also LISTENED and FOLLOWED Him.
The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Triune Godhead. He, like God the Father and Jesus the Son, is a gentleman. He’ll never force a person to listen. He’ll never force a person to obey. All He’ll do is lead – it’s up to the believer to choose to follow. David did, and it made all the difference in how he handled both adversity and “golden opportunities.”
So here we have David ruling over Judah and Israel has Saul’s son Ishbosheth as their leader. One day Judah’s and Israel’s armies had a confrontation and things got totally out of hand. Joab, one of the leaders for David’s (Judah’s) army, had a brother named Asahel who took off in pursuit of Abner, the leader of Ishbosheth’s (Israel’s) army. Abner warned him to back off, but Asahel refused, leaving Abner no choice but to kill him – see Second Samuel 2.
When Joab found his brother dead, he and his troops lit out after Abner. Abner called out: “Must we always be killing each other? Don’t you realize that bitterness is the only result? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?” (II Samuel 2:26b).
And this incident and the fighting that followed were “the beginning of a long war between those who were loyal to Saul and those loyal to David” (II Samuel 3:1a).
David still had a lot more waiting to do, but “As time passed David became stronger and stronger, while Saul’s dynasty became weaker and weaker” (II Samuel 3:1b).
God is in the life-changing business. Don’t give up on the plan He has placed on your heart. Trust His guidance and trust His timing. And serve Him faithfully right where you are as you wait for a new door to open.
Copyright © 2012
Judy Woodward Bates
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