Read 1 Chronicles 13-14 and Amos 8.
This devotional is about 1 Chronicles 14.
David was chosen by God to be king Israel. But, he lived in obscurity after God had him anointed until he defeated Goliath the Philistine. After that victory, David’s life became one battlefield after another. He was either fighting valiantly to defend God’s people and advance Israel’s territory or he was fighting for his life, trying to stay way from Saul.
After he was crowned king and began to put his government together, we read in verse 8 that, “When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force to search for him….” I don’t know about you, but I think I’d be battle-weary by this point. I would be ready to rule as king and not spend so much time fighting.
Not David. David heard about the Philistines plans and “…went out to meet them.” But before he met them in battle, he “…inquired of God: ‘Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?’” (v. 10). God assured him that He would give David victory (v. 10) and he did, even giving David the Philistines’ idols to burn (vv. 11-12).
Those Philistines were persistent, however, and attacked again (v. 13). Perhaps they hoped to kill David before he get any stronger as king but their pre-emptive strikes did not work. Once again David defeated the Philistines (v. 16) but only after he “inquired of God again, and God answered him” (v. 14). This time God even gave him the strategy to use in his attack (vv. 14-15).
The result of these battles was greater than subduing the Philistines. Verse 17 says that as a result of these wins, “David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him.” From the beginning of his reign, then, God cemented David’s leadership and strengthened his power internationally by allowing the Philistines to attack him and giving him those victories.
There are times in our lives when we feel like we go from one problem to the next. Fortunately for us, our problems don’t involve killing other people in war but none of us gets to be king, either. Our problems are smaller than David but we have a more modest calling to fulfill in our lives than he did. My point is that David could have complained to the Lord that he was tired of fighting. He could have tried to ignore the Philistines or buy them off. Their attacks against him were immediate tests of his will; they were designed by the Philistines to prevent David from becoming too powerful.
David did not shrink from the battles even though he’d had a long, difficult road to the throne. Instead, he used these attacks as an opportunity to honor God by seeking God’s will and acting according to whatever God revealed. The end result of these battles was less fighting for David because through these battles, “…the Lord made all the nations fear him” (v. 17b).
People, in my experience at least, usually don’t expect problems. So we are surprised when problems come and sometimes complain to the Lord as if we don’t deserve them.
If you think that you shouldn’t have any problems in life or that you’ve had enough problems and deserve something else, you’re going to be very disappointed with this life. Problems are a symptom of a sin-cursed world. If we don’t think we should have any problems, we don’t understand how the world works.
We also don’t understand God. God knows that problems are part of living in a fallen world. He, therefore, uses problems for our good. They give us the opportunity either to seek his help and follow his word or to lean on our own understanding. They strengthen our faith when we look to him for help and he delivers. They also increase our stature with other people (v. 17) when we handle them well with the Lord’s help. Problems, then, are opportunities. We should embrace them, believing that God will both help us and strengthen us through them.
What problems are you facing today? Can you look at them as opportunities for God to use you and to grow you?