david's wilderness [an old writing]

I was thinking about David today.

He was a shepherd for a very long time before Samuel ever anointed him king.

He was alone for years.

What did he learn that was so important? Why did God choose him instead of one of his brothers? How did he come to know God so intimately, alone, out there in the pastures with nothing but his sheep, slingshot, staff, and harp?

I wonder...

Maybe the times when we feel alone are the times when God can do His greatest work in us, because He becomes all that we have.

Maybe the times when we fight those solitary battles (the ones that nobody sees) are the times when God can teach us to fight most effectively. He is our only coach, our only audience.

Maybe the times when absolute silence/solitude surrounds us are the times when we begin to hear His whisper most intimately.

Maybe the times when our huge victories go unnoticed (David killed a few bears in his time) are the times when God can deal with our pride and ambition most ruthlessly.

Maybe those times in the "wilderness" become the best times in our lives. Our focus becomes the eternal; our purpose becomes clear.

So then, when God calls us out from the wilderness to embrace our destiny, we are not so afraid of giants anymore, nor the taunts of men. God is our captain and our victory is assured, and we will not be dissuaded.

And when the hard times come...again...we remember those times in the wilderness, and we remember that God is for us and not against us. We remember the bears and the lions. We remember his gentle corrections and strong rebukes. We remember his laughter and his voice, speaking gently to our hearts.

And our faces set like flint. And we begin to talk in another language, one that only heaven can understand, as God digs His sword even deeper into our hearts and wedges out the things that have lingered.

Our faces become set toward heaven, and we begin to live like men with eternity in their hearts.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called...

Like David. Like Jesus.

Psalm 23; 1 Corinthians 1:26; 1 Samuel 16-1 Kings 2; Isaiah 53