Lessons from David: How to Be a Giant Killer (2 page)

God’s Original Plan

If we applied these faulty assumptions to Saul, people would say, “God knew exactly who Saul was and what he would do. He knew that Saul was going to fail. Therefore, Saul was just a temporary pick in God’s true plan. All along, the Lord planned for Saul to fail so He could raise David up. This was God’s sovereign plan.”

God, speaking through the prophet Samuel, clearly refutes this assumption in His words to Saul found in 1 Samuel 13:13: “If you would have obeyed Me and not done your own thing, and trusted Me and waited just one more hour until Samuel showed up, I would have established your kingdom upon Israel forever” (paraphrase mine). This means that David was not God’s first choice.

The Lord didn’t choose Saul as a mere interim, temporary king over Israel, until the real person He wanted—David—could come of age and take over. No! God’s Word plainly reveals that His first choice was Saul. If Saul had cooperated with the Lord, He would have established his kingdom over the nation of Israel forever. This means we would have never even heard of David.

This is a little hard for people who really know the Bible to comprehend. Why? Because David is everywhere throughout God’s Word. He was blessed. As a matter of fact, the southern kingdom of the nation of Israel was preserved and lasted longer than the northern ten tribes because the Lord was honoring David. He spared his descendants because of David.

Today we speak of the “sure mercies of David.” God made an oath and a covenant that He would establish the throne of David’s kingdom forever. This was ultimately fulfilled through Messiah—Jesus Christ—who was called “the Son of David.” Prophecies spoke of the Messiah coming out of the tribe of Judah, David’s tribe.

But 1 Samuel 13:13 makes it very clear that David wasn’t God’s first choice. If Saul had obeyed the Lord, we would be talking about the “sure mercies of Saul” today. The Messiah would have come out of the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s tribe. We never would have heard of David. There would never have been a Solomon. There might have been others who did equal or even greater things, but David wasn’t God’s original plan.

“An Expected End”

One of the most important lessons we can learn from the life of David is that God chose David as a result of Saul’s disobedience.

For now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

The Lord sought out David
after
Saul rejected Him. This instance took place in the second year of Saul’s reign (1 Samuel 13:1). At the end of Saul’s forty-year reign (Acts 13:21), David became king when he was thirty years old (2 Samuel 5:4). This meant that David wasn’t even born when Saul rejected God and received notice of God’s judgment through the prophet Samuel. David was born eight years later. David wasn’t God’s first choice—Saul was!

Just because you have stumbled upon God’s will for your life and have begun to fulfill it, that doesn’t mean you’ll automatically finish the course. Just because you can see His calling, anointing, and blessing on your life, do not think you can’t thwart it. That isn’t God’s plan for you, but you can thwart God’s plan.

As far as God is concerned, He’s willing and planning for you to prosper.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29:11

God has a good plan for every individual. It’s a plan that will give you an “expected end”—a predicted future of success. The Lord has a plan and purpose for everyone. He desires for every person to fulfill his individual destiny, but this doesn’t automatically or sovereignly come to pass. You can thwart God’s plan for your life, as did Saul.

Nobody who truly believes that the Bible is the Word of God can say, “Well, God knew Saul was going to do all of these things. He was just a fill-in for David, God’s true plan.” No! Saul was the one God really planned to lead Israel. That’s exactly what the Word says!

Grace Can Be Voided

The example of Saul can serve as a warning to all of us. The Lord has a plan for each one of us that is by grace—it’s not based on our performance—but we do have to cooperate with that plan. Even though we don’t deserve our God-given destiny, there are things we can do that will hinder or stop it from coming to pass in our lives.

So take heed and beware! You can’t just take the grace of God, His blessing, and His calling on your life for granted. You need to persevere.

Paul understood and cooperated with this truth.

For I am the least of the apostles…but by the grace of God I am what I am.

Paul’s calling was by God’s grace. He didn’t deserve it. But Paul went on to say…

And his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.

In other words, God can give grace to you, but you can void it. The Lord has a plan for your life, but you can invalidate it.

His grace…was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Paul was saying that the Lord—by grace—chose him. Paul wasn’t really seeking God at the time God chose him. He was hunting down, persecuting, and killing Christians. According to the Lord himself, Paul was kicking “against the pricks” (Acts 9:5). Paul wasn’t chosen because of any great virtue on his part. It was a grace decision. Yet Paul was saying that he could have made it vain and voided the grace of God. Thankfully he didn’t, and instead he responded by faith to God’s grace and “laboured more abundantly.”

A Sobering Thought

Just like Saul, God has a purpose and plan for each and every one of us. Even after Saul sinned in 1 Samuel 13, God didn’t immediately take him out of the kingship.

For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Romans 11:29

Saul remained king until the day of his death. His kingdom however, instead of being a blessing, turned into a burden for the nation of Israel. Saul oppressed and took advantage of the people. He was tormented, did terrible things, and basically went crazy. He destroyed his son Jonathan’s life. Saul certainly did not realize his full potential.

God’s plan for your life is by grace, but you must cooperate with that grace by faith. Like Saul, you can stop God’s plan and blessing from fully materializing (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Now that’s a sobering thought!

Chapter 2
Do You Qualify?

Saul’s failure gave David a chance. David was God’s second choice. He never would have even come to the surface if Saul hadn’t botched it up. This speaks volumes to me! Even though the Lord has used me in a mighty way, I certainly don’t feel like I was His first choice.

I used to serve as an usher in Katherine Kuhlman’s meetings. Katherine had a powerful, world-renowned ministry of healing. I saw some of the most astounding miracles I’ve ever seen in my life at her meetings. She made a huge impact for the kingdom of God. But I heard Katherine say on more than one occasion that she wasn’t God’s first, second, or even third choice. In her own dramatic way, she continued right on down the line, saying she wasn’t even God’s fourth or fifth choice. She would openly admit that she wasn’t the best person to do the job, but then she’d turn right around to the preachers in the audience and chastise them by saying, “God called some of you to do what I’m doing, but you wouldn’t bear up under the criticism and persecution.” She would just let them have it!

This has always encouraged me because I have never felt like I was the best qualified or most suited person to do what I’m doing. But one of the things I’ve learned from the life of David is that God doesn’t necessarily choose the silver vessel. He chooses the surrendered one. The Lord is more interested in our
availability
than our
ability.

God’s Qualifications

You may feel like you have it all together, but I’m a hick from Texas. I’ve had people make fun of me. They’ve talked about my “hick” voice and how I sound like that old television character, Gomer Pyle. I don’t get upset about that. In fact, I don’t particularly like my voice either. If I were God, I wouldn’t have chosen me. When He chose me and started putting the things He’s told me to do in my heart, I just thought,
God, I’m not qualified. I’m not good enough!
But then I read His list of qualifications found in 1 Corinthians:

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.

When I saw this, I thought,
Hey, I qualify! That’s me!

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence

God doesn’t choose the way man does. He looks on the heart. Saul started out with a tender heart, so God gave him the opportunity. He chose him. But when his heart changed, God forsook him and turned away from him.

A Yielded Heart

As New Testament believers, God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). However, He won’t continue to promote us if we get an evil heart. The Lord will still love us and accept us, but He won’t open doors for us. God will not promote a rotten attitude. We can stop the blessing and promotion of God from coming in our life. He won’t leave us or forsake us the way He did with Saul, but we can certainly hinder, stop, and thwart His blessing in our life.

Therefore, you need to recognize that God is looking for a humble heart. He’s looking at the attitude of your heart. Just like with David, the Lord is seeking people after His own heart. This encourages me.

God didn’t choose David because David was the tallest. Saul was the tallest in the entire nation, but David was the runt of the litter. Saul was a tough looking, masculine man. He was probably weathered from being out in the sun and wind. David was ruddy and had a beautiful complexion (1 Samuel 16:12). He had a countenance that was enjoyable to look at. In other words, he was a “Mama’s Boy.” David was nice looking, but not the kind of guy you would pick to go out and fight a battle. People look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

Through studying the life of David, I’ve learned that the Lord isn’t concerned with external things. He is not concerned with my skills, abilities, or whether or not I have charisma. He looks at my heart, whether I will trust Him or not. Once I saw this, I thought,
God, I may not have the education, the polish, the talent, or the looks. I may not have the strength or natural ability that other people do, but I have a heart. And I choose to commit my heart to seeking You as much as anybody ever has!
That’s been my pursuit. I’m not saying that I have fully attained it, but I have consistently and honestly sought to love God in spirit and in truth with my whole heart. The Lord has honored that. He has blessed me and has opened up doors in my life and ministry.

I’ve seen many people’s lives changed by the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. I’ve seen blind eyes and deaf ears opened, terminal diseases healed, and people raised from the dead—including my own son! What a blessing! Why did those things come to pass? Because, I started seeking God with my whole heart. I don’t have the ability in my hands to heal or raise anyone from the dead, but I can yield my heart to Him and He can use me to work miracles. God wants to use you too. It’s all about your heart.

Seek Him Wholeheartedly!

Even though David wasn’t God’s first choice, look what the Lord was able to do with him. He made an impact. Nearly four thousand years later, we’re still learning from the life of David and talking about what a great man he was. Many people’s lives were transformed by the life of David. God used him to transform the Israelites from a rag tag bunch of tribal groups into a nation. They gained prominence and were established as a nation that is still in existence today. Great things happened!

David wasn’t God’s first choice. He didn’t have all of the qualifications the world might look for in a leader, but he yielded his whole heart to God. The Lord chose him, and God’s “Plan B” was better than any of us could have ever imagined His “Plan A” being.

The good news is that God can do the same for you. You may not have it all together. In fact, you may consider yourself weak, base, and despised. Well, according to 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, you qualify! All you have to do is yield your heart to Him.

I probably wasn’t the Lord’s first choice. But I’ve chosen God and because of that, He’s chosen to use me. Maybe someone else was better qualified, but nonetheless He’s using me. I just praise Him for the opportunity. God is awesome!

You don’t have to be perfect for the Lord to use you. You just have to seek Him with your whole heart. If you hunger and thirst for God, you will be filled (Matthew 5:6)!

Chapter 3
Obedience Is Better

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.