Trained and Perfected in rough Places
But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." 1 Sam 17:34-37NIV
David said to King Saul, “I have come thus far through the pathway of challenges and suffering”.
I know you will wonder how I got that.
Shepherding has never been a job for the weak minded. It involved moving about in lonely places to guide the flock to find pasture. Somewhere the bible said that every shepherd is detestable to the Egyptians (Gen. 46:34); shepherds smell like their sheep and sheep don’t smell wonderful.
When David started by saying that he was a shepherd, King Saul could relate and he knew that David was used to tough times.
Then he added, “I kill lions and bears and I kill them when they are hungry”.
It is important that you take a special note of that; lions and bears are harmless when they have been fed and they are not provoked. But these animals are deadly when they are hungry. Now, imagine what the situation was like when they came into the fold of David’s flock, picked one sheep and started walking away; yes, imagine that David approached them to recover his sheep. David said that, as expected, they always turned towards him to feed on him. That was the time he took hold of each of them and killed them.
Then he went further by saying, “My King, I do this often”.
He presented these as part of his credentials to seek the King’s permission to confront Goliath. At this point King Saul understood that this man may be young, but he knew what was involved in this situation.
It is easy for us to understand that David’s family members did not love or value him but I have a problem with it when God who claimed that He loved David dearly would allow David to face all that danger. It is even safe to say that it was God who made David’s father to neglect him like that and so David lived a life in daily danger in taking care of the family flock of sheep. It was in this difficult situation that he encountered and killed lions and bears.
Years later David wrote,
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. Ps 144:1-2NIV
He was giving thanks and praises to God for exposing him to those dangerous situations and he referred to them as his training school; his war college. I strongly believe that this was not the way David saw this situation when he was going through it. It was after he had passed through it and now, when circumstances came up, he discovered that those tough times he went through have prepared him to face them.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Heb 12:11NIV
I could not believe my ears when my then mentor made a prayer of release over me; he prayed that God will expose me to suffering at an early time and grant me the grace to overcome. He specifically mentioned Rev. 2:10
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Rev 2:10NIV
Well, fortunately or unfortunately, God granted his request and I really faced difficulty in the early days of my ministry. After going through the bible, I discovered that even the Apostle Paul would have made the same prayer for me if he were my mentor;
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer. 2 Tim 2:3-4NIV
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Rom 8:16-17NIV
The suffering should come before the glory, just as planting should come before harvest. Even though Jesus Christ was God-incarnate who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born by a virgin, it is recorded thus about Him;
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Heb 2:10NIV
There is the perfecting of God’s children and especially God’s servants, that is only possible through suffering.
During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him Heb 5:7-9NIV
Did you observe that being prayerful and submissive to God’s command do not exonerate God’s chosen ones from the season of divinely apportioned suffering? It is a perfecting process; it is like tearing off layers from our souls in order to bring us to the size that fits us to enter into God’s perfect purpose for our lives.
Contrary to what some theological schools of taught say, in God’s economy, those who would follow Jesus Christ should determine to follow Him even in His suffering.
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27NIV
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21NIV
There are many who follow Jesus Christ today but they avoid the pathway of His suffering. To be frank, there were other young men like myself in those early days who stepped into the ministry but they were afraid of suffering. They looked for early gratification and chose terrains that were soft and easy. They were focused on how to look good outwardly and offered their services as God’s servants to the highest bidders. They joined groups and organizations that promised to make their walk with God stress-free.
Some of them rose very fast and became rich and popular, but today they are no where to be found. A good number of them are no longer in the ministry. This is not only about those in the gospel ministry, but concerns everyone in any other field of human endeavors; the suffering must precede the glory, otherwise the glory will be a fading glory.
Yes, there is a fading glory and there is an enduring glory.
There are two bible examples like that. they were exceptionally anointed, one was anointed with power like no other man who ever lived on earth, his name was Samson. The other one was gifted with exceptional wisdom like none other ever had, his name was Solomon. These men enjoyed relevance and power but they did not pass through the wilderness of suffering to get to the top. I believe that this contributed to their woeful fall from glory.
David was trained in God’s war college. It did not make his training easier but tougher. It was a process in loneliness. He was there all alone and the dealing was personal. The beauty of it was that one hundred thousand “wild animals” of the Philistine army did not scare him.
It is a very necessary part of your Christian growth and development. If that is where you are now, do not be afraid, you will come out stronger and better.
Keep following!
Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment