So all the elders of Israel came to King David at Hebron, and he made an agreement with them in Hebron in the presence of the Lord. Then they poured oil on David to make him king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled forty years. He was king over Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months, and he was king over all Israel and Judah in Jerusalem for thirty-three years…
So David lived in the strong, walled city and called it the City of David. David built more buildings around it, beginning where the land was filled in. He also built more buildings inside the city. He became stronger and stronger, because the Lord God All-Powerful was with him. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2 Samuel 5:3-5, 9-10 (NCV)
Lectionary texts: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10, Psalm 48, Mark 6:1-13, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10
The texts this week are so very encouraging as I look at the trials that are going on throughout this world. Wildfires burning down blocks of homes. Unexpected storms destroying homes, knocking out power. Then there is Somalia, the Sudan, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Iran. I just found out tonight another friend is battling breast cancer.
I read the “coronation†of David as king of Israel. For a time he was king over a great portion of the known world. And this Scripture says that he became so strong and – invincible – because he was with his God All-Powerful. It was not in David’s own wisdom or military might that David became powerful. It was the One to whom he swore his total allegiance to.
Paul also bears witness to the truth that any and all that he achieved in his ministry was done because he was so weak. In that weakness, God was able to be who He was – All-Powerful. The very reason that God did not remove the “thorn†from Paul may have been to keep him weak.
Mark tells me about Jesus’ wisdom that He spoke to the disciples then and to me now. There will not be “honor†for me among my own town or among those who think they really know me. There will be people who will not listen to the teachings and wisdom that God gives me because they think they know who I really am and am not. Jesus says that I shouldn’t let that slow me down in doing what He has told me to do. Just keep moving on and doing what He has told me.
This isn’t easy. I have just in the last two days been in a struggle to “stop trying†in an area of ministry. I feel as if I have been beating my head against a wall. But every time I decide to stop, I am able to see how God was able to encourage someone or give someone a word of wisdom. I know that I am to continue to be available and open for a a breakthrough. I am not to turn my back on this group yet. Jesus is so faithful to lift me up and encourage me through His own example of persistence, grace, and mercy. Even in a place like His hometown, He did what He could – and moved on.
It is God who keeps the Big Picture in His eyesight and gives me my orders for the tasks He has for me. I do not need to “tweek†His plan or criticize others on what they are or are not doing. There is no tribulation to big for our LORD. Pray and stay the path that God has given me.
For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14 (NIV)
Glory to the King by Darlene Zschech (1997)
