At this moment, if I was asked who my favorite bible character is, I would probably say it is David, son of Jesse. It might change next week or the next month but right now – I am so in love with how he lived his life. And yet again I am not surprised that God looked at him and qualified him as the man after His heart because He did all that God told him to do- Acts 13:22.
David was the youngest of his siblings and yet showed such bravery, and boldness and even took up leadership at a very young age. There was just something distinct about him, either he had been anointed from his mother’s womb or he had just been deliberate and intentional about his relationship with the Lord. I’d like to believe that it was the latter, all through scripture where David’s name is mentioned – I see how intentional he was about communing with the Lord. Such a beauty to behold, in my opinion. Studying through the book of I Samuel recently, I see things that David did that I could not help but highlight. Let us turn our bibles to I Samuel 23, shall we? This chapter opens up by explaining to us how some traitors invaded David’s territory, they did not just invade, they invaded and stole from David’s territory as well. The logical thing to do to people who not only invade one’s private space but also steal from one is to fight them, break bones or just make them pay for the evil that they have infiltrated. But this was not David’s response, he took his time to ask the Lord what to do.
Let us for a moment imagine the kind of strength, emotional intelligence, and discipline it must have taken David not to respond with violence immediately. It must have taken a lot of strength for a man as strong and powerful as David not to charge at the invaders and destroy them instantly. Fortunately for David, the Lord told Him he could charge against the Philistines who had invaded his territory. But right after he got this instruction, he was faced with another challenge. He was faced with the distraction and voices of his men around him. His men out of fear expressed that they could not go with David in battle. But instead of being discouraged or giving up. David asked the Lord again, and again! Emphasis on the word again, David asked the Lord again and again for confirmation to be sure that the Lord was leading him to fight. Because he knew that in the perfect will of God, victory was inevitable for him. This trait of David’s I see in a good number of chapters in I Samuel, you could check I Samuel chapters 24,26, and 30. Over and over, I see David following only God’s instructions regardless of how inconvenient or illogical it may sound or look. In chapters 24 and 26 we see scenarios where David had the sweet opportunity to kill King Saul who was clearly after his life. He was encouraged by his army to kill Saul when he had the opportunity but David stuck to God’s instructions – “touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm”. His army must have thought to themselves how stupid David was to let his core enemy slide through his grasp just like that. But clearly, David was all out to please the Lord.
Because David went all out to always take instructions from the Lord, the lord went all out to bless Him. I can tell because David is one of the greatest, most popular, and talked about kings that lived on earth. King David was so blessed that the messiah of the world came from His lineage, even more so that Jesus Christ is referred to as the son of David.
With all that has been shared about King David, I hope that we are reminded that we can very much commune with God, we can ask Him questions. We can ask Him over and over and He would speak to us, giving us directions that would lead us and guide us into safety. All of the instructions which God gave to David helped him to thrive through his lifetime and so can God’s instructions help us thrive through our lives on earth. But it is up to us to ask Him, listen and follow through.
As I wrap up, I’d like to speak to you dear friend who may not know where and how to start to ask God for instructions. The first step is to become a friend of Jesus, you can become His friend by making the confessions here. Once you have done this, you should start to build your relationship with Him by studying the Holy Bible, talking to Him, and fellowshipping with other believers as well. As intentional as you are about your relationship with Jesus, the clearer you start to hear Him when you ask Him for directions.
And for my dear friend who has been walking with Jesus, it is ok to ask Him over and over for instructions, it is ok to ask Him for confirmation over and over. This way, you would have all the confidence and strength to do God’s absolute will which pleases Him and draws down blessings from heaven upon obedient children.