Transforming a Shepherd Boy into a King

Introduction:

David – A man after God’s own heart, has always been a special character in my life. I personally always compare my life with his. I believe out of all the Old Testament characters; David is the character which resembles with today’s generation. David’s life was a process of making mistakes and repenting and working towards it which usually helps me to relate his life with mine. No, I am not saying that I am David, but to put it in words, I would say that he’s the closest person from the bible which I can relate myself to. David’s life wasn’t an easy one and he needed some real change in his character. Psalms tells us a lot about him and the struggles that he had (physically as well as spiritually).

Whenever we read stories about David, his successes & victories throughout the kingdom, we can only stand in awe and in reverence to God for all the blessings that He gave to David. But when we try to understand the depth and the struggles that David went through as a person, I sometimes wonder if I would have been able to withstand all of it? I don’t think so!! I kept wondering about it and would like you all to give it a thought. So, let’s try to be in the shoes of David and imagine the struggles he had in his life.

David – The Shepherd Boy

David, son of Jesse of Bethlehem, was anointed to be the second king of Israel after Saul was rejected by the God Almighty. As per some biblical scholars, David was 15 years old when he was anointed to be a king. The bible tells us about his appearance as handsome looking boy with a glow on his face. Physically, I believe that he was not like his brothers who were well built as if they were born to be warriors. David was more of a chocolate boy kind. But we cannot ignore the fact that even beyond his outer appearance, David was a strong man. Unfortunately, he wasn’t much appreciated by his family.

When Samuel was asked to anoint the son of Jesse, neither did Samuel or David’s father ever pictured David as the anointed one. God himself tells Samuel that, He does not look at the things man looks at, as man tend to look at the outer appearance but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). This statement gives us the idea about the appearance of David. David was not even considered during the anointing ceremony. A man rejected by his own family. But after all, he was the one, God anointed to be the King of Israel.

Journey to become a King

Even though he was anointed to be the next King of Israel, he wasn’t prepared to handle that kingship. We all know how we are when we all were 15. Immature, inexperienced, unskilled, least knowledgeable and above all not very serious about life. It took him 15 years to be eligible to become King. And in all these 15 years, he had been into lot of situations which were a dead end for him. If it wasn’t for God, he would never have made out of these situations alive.

David’s Struggles & Disappointments

Apart from all the incidents, his encounter with the giant Goliath, bringing the 200 Philistine foreskins, fleeing from King Saul, were some of the significant life changing incidents. Killing an armed giant with a stone?? Impossible!! Killing 200 Philistine warriors and bringing their foreskins by a handful of men?? Cannot even dare to do so!! And in all of this, the overview was that his obedience towards God’s guidance is the only way.

David’s Thought – My Point of View

I can imagine the situations David was in when he was running away from Saul from places. His first question would have been, “Lord, why me?”. That’s the question I would have asked. Imagine you being David, promised King of Israel by God and anointed by Samuel himself, is now running away to save his own life. How would have thought? Likewise, he, would have thought to himself, “I never wanted to be the King. It was God who promised me. I never had it in my mind. And now after promising me, God is making me run for my life. I don’t know how I am gonna survive. I don’t even know if I can see the next dawn. King Saul’s army has surrounded me. There’s no escape!! Why is this happening to me Lord?? What’s my mistake??”

David – The King of Israel

But God had a plan for him. God wanted him to be the King and to be that worthy King of God’s chosen people is not an easy task. God was making him go through all of this to make him understand that he is nothing without God and God alone can save him. God wanted him to trust in the Lord completely. God wanted him to be a humble, kind and a caring King. And all this would not have happened if he hadn’t had gone through these near-death experiences. After 15 years of training to be the King, God wanted him to became the King of Israel at the age of 30 (2 Samuel 5: 4).

Conclusion:

Many a times, we want everything to be quick and easy. We are the generation with least patience in us. With the advancement of technology and science, we want everything to speed up without much effort. But God doesn’t work that way. He has appointed a right time for everything and on that right time, you will be rewarded.  And until that time comes, He will make sure that you are ready for it. Sometimes, we put in a lot of effort but nothing seems to be working out. Sometimes, we get tired and want to just give up. Sometimes, we only see is disappointments and struggles. All of these seems meaningless and confusing and then, we even start doubting God. But, wait on the Lord, if God has promised, He will fulfil it at His right time. He will prepare and train you to be eligible for the promises He gave you. Our Potter will repeatedly mould you and break you to give you a finest looking shape. David himself says to wait for the Lord without losing heart (Psalm 27:14), and for him, it worked and definitely, it will work for you too!!