LESSONS FROM DAVID

The delivery of goods and services is what runs the world now. The world celebrates anyone or institution that offers a product or provides a service.

We all admire great things but hidden from the eye is the process a thing we admire went through to get to be put on display. It is very important for us to understand that when we purchase products or use a service, we do not just pay for the finishing, but for the process, it went through. With this background, let us turn the spotlight on David, the second king of Israel, and glean some lessons.

Before David became popular in his days, he was doing something. What he invested his time doing was what caught God's attention for Him to instruct Samuel the Prophet to go to a certain man in Bethlehem and anoint one of his sons.

"Now the?Lord?said to Samuel,?“How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel??Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to?Jesse the Bethlehemite. For?I have?provided Myself a king among his sons.”

1 Samuel 16:1-2

What is hidden or not recorded is what David did or was doing before God moved Samuel the Prophet to go anoint him. We however are able to pick some traces in the Bible and by that make a conjecture on what he was doing. One such evidence is the famous Psalm 23 where he wrote, "The Lord is my Shepherd..."

Lesson #1: Do not rule God out if you want to be noticed by men.

A study into 1 Samuel 16 would reveal the fact that David though the youngest of Jesse's sons, was the one who was tasked with tending the sheep of his father. He could have chosen to be bitter or sad with his father's decision, rather, he took advantage and built a relationship with his maker, God.

Lesson #2: Some 'misfortunes' are blessings in disguise. Don't abuse your 'misfortunes', rather, make them count.

Samuel the Prophet anointed David as instructed by God, but he did not go announcing it to the public because the activity that took place was a private one. Moreso, there was a substantive king of Israel, and that meant that he David, was a king in waiting.

Lesson 3: You can be identified by others as one who has the potential for something great, but you need to keep your identification private, not public.

When Samuel had finished anointing David, Saul the king of Israel began to dysfunction as a result of the loss of God's anointing upon him. It was at this time that one of the servants who had noticed the change in his disposition suggested that Saul instruct them to look for someone with the ability to play the harp to be with him in his courts so when he gets into a dysfunctional mode, the person would begin to play for him to get relief. There and then, another person in Saul's courts began to talk about David and how he met the requirements Saul wanted in the person. They eventually sent for David but he had to start as a servant in Saul's courts, not as an elder of the king's council even though he had been anointed as king.

Lesson 4: An opportunity to serve is an unpaid apprenticeship opportunity to grow into greatness. Kill your pride and learn so you will be better placed for future opportunities.

We will continue the lessons in the next edition. Thank you for reading.