Daily Devotional for Thursday 2nd November
God chooses David
Jesse had eight sons. Samuel knew God intended to choose one of them, but not which one! Samuel’s job was to anoint that man as the next king after Saul. When God told Samuel that Eliab was not the one, six more sons were brought before Samuel to view, but none of them were God’s choice.
In desperation, maybe exasperation, Samuel asks, is this all of your children?! And Jesse tells him, well, yes, there is one more, the youngest, but he's out in the field with the flock.
When David is brought in before Samuel, God says to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”
And scripture says this, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah” (v.13).
It didn’t matter to God that David was the youngest, or the one with a lowly job. What mattered to God was David’s heart. David was called “a man after God’s own heart” in Acts 13:22. Yes, as king, David sinned and made mistakes, and paid for them afterwards, but he was quick to repent and passionate about worshiping God and giving God the glory, not taking it for himself. He wasn’t embarrassed to show the people that he loved God and looked to God for everything.
When someone like that is chosen by God for a role, he or she is anointed by God for that task, called and equipped is how the New Testament talks about it, and as believers we are all filled with the Holy Spirit. When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us, and give preference to God, giving Him the glory, God can use us, too, to bring more of His kingdom in.
Time to reflect…
Remember back to when you first gave your heart to God. Think about all the ways God has led you, has had His hand upon you.
Pause to pray…
Dear God, life with You is the best! Thank You that You loved us so much You paid the great price to redeem us from sin and death. May we always want Your hand on us, guiding, loving, protecting and equipping, and may we live our lives for You and the sake of the gospel of Jesus, Your Son. In His name, Amen.
