"Average" according to one motivational speaker - is the best of the worst and the worst of the best.
Sometimes I think we settle for "average" . . . when God has plans for EXCELLENT!
David, the ultimate everyman found himself in just such a place.
As I have expressed in my belabouring manner on two previous posts, David - in the Bible story found in 1 Samuel 27 - 29 - suddenly stopped listening to God and started listening to his own fears. Thus doing, he went over to the enemy.
I think that in the land of the Philistines, he tried to be optimistic. He and his mighty men of valor were chalking up wins, piling up stock from all of their winnings and lived in the favor of the king of the Philistines.
But it wasn't home. It wasn't Israel... it wasn't Zion.
At least one scholar mentions that David may have nearly converted that Philistine king. He really took a liking to David. Why in chapter 29 the king told David that he was like "an angel of God" to him.
In chapter 28, the king promoted David to a lifetime appointment as bodyguard to the king!
That is a pretty impressive position.
And he had a job for LIFE! - that's also pretty impressive - especially in this economy.
Yeah David was living the good life - or was he.
He had pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and now he was living the high life - or was he.
I don't think David felt fulfilled.
Truly he had manipulated the situation to the point of great success -but it was all under false pretenses. He had earned the kings' admiration by lying to him about destroying Israeli cities. In fact David's lies had almost trapped him into going into battle against his own nation ... his own brothers.
That's the way it is when we "get somewhere" on our own and without God's leading or His help. . . . our wins are empty.
David realized just how empty all that success was when he returned after being excused from going into battle . When he and his warriors returned to their village they found that someone had raided the town and took all their stuff as well as their wives and children.
Needless to say, they were distraught.
And these men - these loyal men whom God through David had melded into a notable army ... these men who would follow David anywhere just because he said so .... they turned on him.
They began to huddle together in their distress and occasionally someone would cast a piercing stare at David from within the throng. They whispered. Their conversation involved "stoning David".
It's really nice of God to let us hit bottom sometimes when we have acted real goofy.
At the bottom, we tend to be free of distraction - it is much easier to focus on God.
Being at the bottom helped David get his mind right.
. . . . . but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6b KJV
Possibly that very morning, he had been a man to be honored by the king of the land, a man of great position and favor . . . yet he was empty.
Now, David had but to turn his focus back to God and you can almost feel the energy popping within him. Suddenly he is engaged, the blood is flowing again, he is thinking clearly and the men see it.
They watch David return to a familiar pattern... he prays.
And in his prayer, a familiar question, "Shall I go up and pursue this raiding party?"
And God said, "Pursue them."
The men fell in behind David... they had their commander back.
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