Saul and Jonathan are now dead.
The road to David’s rise to the throne has been cleared.
But here’s the thing…
And this is a point the narrator of 2nd Samuel took great pains to demonstrate…
David didn’t commit any evil in his rise to the throne.
He had two chances to kill King Saul…
But he didn’t take them.
In the face of Saul’s threats, he truly showed what it meant to “Love your enemies” and “Pray for those who persecute you.”
Don’t get me wrong.
David was far from perfect.
He slipped up plenty of times…
But he never tried to take the throne from Saul by force.
The other point the author of 2nd Samuel wanted to drive home is that God was behind the scenes all along.
What humans did based on their egos and fleshly desires mattered not.
The Lord was still guiding events according to His sovereign Will.
And speaking of human beings, this connects to another key theme embedded in the story of David.
God may have been in control.
But He worked with people to make things happen.
There’s a huge takeaway here.
We weren’t created to be spectators.
If we’re to be God’s instruments of good on this planet, we can’t just sit on our butts and wait for God to move.
That’s what too many folks do.
They say their prayers and then do nothing.
They give the excuse that they’re waiting for the Lord to make a move.
But the truth is, more often than not, He’s waiting for us to bust a move.
If God desires you to win the lottery…
You still gotta pick your butt off the sofa and go buy a ticket.
Ya feel me?
See ya all next time.
Good message, as always.
Yes, our God is a God of action, not a God of sitting around waiting for it to get done.
In Mark 11:24, we are told that when we pray for something we should act as if it has already been given to us, and what that translates to is pray for what you want then go out there and get it!
Say you want a new job, and you pray for God to provide one. That’s fine, but if you continue to work, waiting for someone to offer you a better job, that ain’t gonna do it.
You’ve got to pray, but then send out resumes, go on Job sites, and make contacts.
God makes things grow, but he won’t do anything if you don’t plant the seeds and water them constantly.
The true test of faith is making that leap of faith; praying for something then doing what you would do as if you have received the answer you asked for.
Amen, Steven.