Crowned With David: 7 Days Of SuccessНамуна

After David’s victory over Goliath, Saul chose to keep David in his service permanently. David did everything from playing the lyre to leading segments of the army for Saul. It wasn’t long before all of Israel began to take notice of the young man’s successes.

The people of Israel watched as David succeeded over and over again and honored him like they would a king. Saul became furious. Here was this young man stealing the favor of his people. 

What was the cause behind David’s meteoric rise? Verse 12 says it simply: “Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul.” 

God was forcefully directing the events at this time. Whether David wants to or not, he was gaining immense popularity across the nation. At the same time, Saul’s claim to the throne was diminishing. He was watching the kingdom he forged slip from his hands and everything he did seemed to work towards David’s good. 

Commentator P. Kyle McCarter Jr. adds this, “every action [Saul] takes relative to David contributes to his successes…everything [David] does, whether out of a desire for personal gain or not, brings him promotion and glory…both men are caught up in something larger than themselves, in events in which they must participate but cannot finally control.”

When God wants something for your life there is no person or force on earth that can stop Him. David was not particularly ambitious at this stage in his life. He was still very young and above all, he wanted to please God. God loved David and took every opportunity to bless him as He paved the way for him to become king. 

Once God has placed a calling on your life – something you know without a shadow of a doubt that He wants you to do, a task that you were specially created to complete – keep your eyes on Him and not that thing. 

I believe one of the reasons David was so blessed during this time was because he was not trying to overthrow Saul and become king. His top concern was serving God and doing that by serving the king. 

When we place more importance on fulfilling the call of God over having a relationship with God, that is when dangerous and painful things happen. God kept blessing David because he kept his eyes and heart towards Him. God left Saul for exactly the same reason – he chose to keep his eyes and heart on his own kingdom and away from God.

Takeaway: In our pursuit of great callings we will have to constantly ask ourselves: am I pursuing the thing more than God? 

Prayer: Lord, my life is your vessel. Please direct my steps and keep my eyes and heart towards You. Help me to trust that You know what You are doing.