UNCOMMEN: A to B, What's Your PathIsampula

Long Way To Become The King

For our third day in this series, we are talking about David and how he went from a shepherd's hand to become King of Israel. David was not born into royalty; however, he rose to be king with God directing his path. His story begins in 1 Samuel 17. David is bringing food back and forth from his home to his brothers in the army. While there, David saw a large Philistine named Goliath, who was terrorizing the Israelites. Knowing God had kept him safe from lions and bears while in the fields of sheep, David placed his trust in God and challenged Goliath. With just a sling and a smooth stone, David defeated Goliath. After his victory over Goliath, David was appointed to be Saul's armor-bearer. 

But not everything that happened to David after this pivotal event was positive. Saul tried multiple times to kill David, even though David was married to Saul's daughter and inseparable to Jonathan, Saul's son. Saul eventually chased David out of the palace and forced him to flee to enemy territory. 

Eventually, though, David became a king that was known for being after God's own heart. That is not to say David did not take missteps and disobey God. We can look at his choice of killing Uriah so that he could be with Bathsheba as an example of grave sin. But he repented before the Lord. We can't cover everything about David and his life in this lesson, but I highly encourage you to go and read David's story all the way through.

What recently made me think of David and his path to be king was a conversation with my fiancee. We were talking about her completing her degree in accounting this December, and she was mentioning how the other students took very different paths to get to the same place she did in the degree. She switched majors from chemistry to accounting, which extended her time in school. 

Other students started in accounting and finished on time. This change was making her feel like she had taken the wrong path. David most likely felt this way too. He was a shepherd; he wasn't royalty. His approach to the throne was vastly different than the kings before him. Maybe he didn't feel qualified; perhaps he felt lacking. But it took that exact path to get David to where he needed to be. As for my fiancee, if she had started in accounting and kept with it, she would have graduated before I met her, and we probably wouldn't be engaged right now. So remember not to compare your path with others around you. God has a plan for you, and it is specific to you.

Uncommen Question: 

Have you compared your path with those around you?

Have you felt lacking because of your past experiences or lack thereof?

Uncommen Challenge: 

Focus on the positives that have come from your path, and do not single out the negative. Take time this week to read through David's story in 1 Samuel.

Scripture Reference:
1 Samuel 17