Big, Important, Uber-Introduction to the Blog
Okay, so I like David. I feel like he and I could have been friends. We’re both the youngest of eight, we both dig music, and we’re both “ruddy.” I’m not sure how I feel about being called ruddy, but whatever. Yeah, so lately, I’ve been reading in 1st and 2nd Samuel, and the life of David is just never ceasing to amaze me. I know that he was called the man after God’s own heart and all that, but there’s something about him that just seems so REAL that I can connect with. I mean, he doesn’t have a great family life, he struggles with lust, and he has a habit of not stepping up and doing what’s right the first time around.
So basically, I wanted to check out some lessons that I could learn from his life, and the following blogs are pretty much those lessons. This is lesson number one: courage.
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I. Courage
Okay, novelty check: isn’t it interesting how some items become so popular that they actually become household names for their particular product? For instance: Band-Aids, Q-Tips, Twinkies, ect. That’s pretty much how David stepped onto the public scene. His epic battle with Goliath became the standard of the underdog beating the absolute bejeezus out of the big, ugly guy.
You all know the story. I don’t need to tell it again. Basically, what my question was after reading this story again was: Wow, so…where did David get the testicular fortitude to get out there and smack down some Goliath booty? What was it in his life that gave him the courage to get out there with a sling and a shepherd’s staff and single-handedly bring down a man who had been a warrior for years?
To get there, you have to jump back a chapter and some change into 1 Samuel 16:10, where David first shows up. Long story short, Samuel was on his way to annoint a new king because the old one had ticked off God and was pretty much threatening the future of Israel. Short story even shorter, he ended up at David’s father (Jesse)’s house.
So Jesse brings out all his sons who look like they stepped from the pages of GQ or an Abercrombie magazine (the bible says that they were all tall and good-looking) and lined them up to be considered. Samuel was even taken in by the whole thing until God spoke to him. God was refusing them…all of them.
Sam was confused, and why wouldn’t he be? Jews were notoriouslly short in biblical days and a tall man was naturally looked up to (no pun intended) as a leader. Then there was the thing about them being good-looking. It would be easier to marry them off to a neighboring kingdom if they looked more like Brad Pitt than the caveman on the Geico commercials. To top it all off, they came from a well-to-do family. Jesse was of the lineage of Boaz, a man (detailed in the book of Ruth) who was of noble blood AND rich. Basically, his sons were tailor-made to be king…but they were passed over.
So Sam asked Jesse if he had any more sons, and Jesse hesitates, then remembers David, that kid working out in the back pasture. Loads of historical evidence (his lowly position in the fields, the fact that his father didn’t want to acknowledge him, and his habit of being given crap jobs by dear old dad, and the fact that David’s mother is never really confirmed, ect.) suggest that David was an illegitimate son of his father, probably born by some servant girl.
He doesn’t look like the legit sons of Jesse, heck his father didn’t even really like him all that much, so why would he be included in the lineup to be king? Also, understand that when Jesse said that David was off in the fields, he meant that David had been sent away with the sheep to look for food. In essence, David wasn’t just a couple of yards away in the back yard, he was out riding the range.
So, you know the story, David got picked to be king. Imagine that! The shy, short, red-headed brother gets picked over the Abercrombie clones, gets officially endorsed as a son of Jesse (because who WOULDN’T want the future king as a son), and gets annointed by the big dog preacher of the day to be the next king. I’d say life was pretty good.
Well, it was until the next day when Samuel LEFT WITHOUT ANOTHER WORD. Imagine it, you’ve just been validated by this guy, annointed as king, and then he just leaves…without a word. It’s like “Yeah, you’re gonna do great kid, see ya.” Boom. Gone. Just like everything else in David’s life. So Sam leaves David behind, who gets shoved back into the back fields after a little while, I’m sure.
Now, it’s the fields that I’m interested in, because I’m confident that’s where David learned the art of courage. It was in the fields that David killed the lion and the bear that attacked his flocks. It was in the fields where David honed the skill that would allow him to kill Goliath. It was in those quiet, lonely days and nights where he had to beg, borrow, or steal what vegetation out of the cruel wilderness he could for his father’s sheep that he really learned courage.
This begs the question…so what did he actually do? Well, he worshipped. He got close to his source. See, David was a musician. He used those lonely times in the fields to become one of the most celebrated musicians of his day, even penning songs that are still in the bible and the basis for many modern songs of worship. It was in those times of learning who God was (by spending time with him) that David learned courage. It’s here that David learned three big lessons.
1.) That his courage wasn’t dependant on his leaders- David had to be strong even after Samuel had left him high and dry. He had to be strong to face the rejection from his father and older brothers. He had to be strong to face the rejection when Saul didn’t believe that he could whip Goliath. David’s courage didn’t come from who led him in the natural, but who led him spiritually.
2.) That godly courage is birthed in intimacy with God- David’s relationship with God was obviouslly important to him. His confidence in himself came from knowing that he was beloved of God, and that confidence spurred him on to being a courageous man. It was those lonely nights when he was completely alone that he learned that he was never really alone at all.
3.) That the courage to defeat giants comes from knowing that God is your ultimate source- It was easy for David to battle Goliath, because he knew that his only real battle was to overcome the intimidation of the enemy. Goliath liked to talk a big talk, mocking the Israelites, even mocking God. David knew that his ultimate source was God, and that his destiny was to plant this giant’s face in the dirt. It was easy for him to fight because he knew he couldn’t lose. That’s the power of knowing your source.
So you see, David’s courage allowed him to win the battle before he even stepped on the field. David knew that Goliath could squash him like a bug. He KNEW it, but he also knew that he was coming in the name of the Lord, God of Israel. The battle was never his, and in knowing that, he defeated fear.
As I was reading this, I began to think about Jesus and the beattitudes. He said “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” How can someone who is weak inherit (or lay claim) to the Earth? It’s because it’s not their battle. They can be as weak as they want because God is strong in them.
Maybe you’re going through a tough time in your life like me right now. I’d encourage you to let courage rise up in you today. That courage can rise up in you when you realize that you don’t actually have to fight the battle. All you have to do is have courage (faith), and believe.
The world looks for the pretty people, the tall people, the talented people, the people who have it all together. The bible says that the eyes of the Lord are roaming throughout the earth, seeking a heart that is completely his. Have courage. Be strong. The battle is not yours, but the victory is.
