Psalm 21
Planned
There once was a boy out tending the sheep when a prophet came to his family’s home to anoint a king. The prophet did not find the one he was to anoint among the boy’s brothers and so they sent for the boy who was in the field with the sheep. “This is the one”, the Lord said to the prophet and the prophet anointed the boy as king. Perhaps it seemed like a joke. After all, Israel already had a king and this newly anointed king was just a boy, but God had a plan, and indeed David became the king of Israel. From his line Jesus the King of kings would come.
David is reflecting on these events as he writes this Psalm. Who would have ever thought that shepherd boy would become the greatest king of Israel? God did! God had a plan for David and God has a plan for you and me. The road to becoming king was not easy for David, it was long and hard. It did not happen overnight. There were times of exile and times of fear and doubt, but God was faithfully taking him through each event in his life and in the process of those events the shepherd boy was learning how to be king.
Could God be doing the same thing with us? Could it be the events we are going through or have gone through, that God has a purpose for them because God has a plan for us?
We quote Romans 8:28 NKJV, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” That word purpose means “an exposition”. It is first used in the New Testament in the book of Matthew where it is translated showbread, the bread that the priest gave to David when he was running from king Saul. (1 Samuel 21:6; Matthew 12:4) The showbread was twelve loaves of bread that the priest would lay out in the Holy place of the temple before the Lord. Bread represents the Word of God; the twelve loaves represent the twelve tribes of Israel. In his difficult journey to becoming king of the twelve tribes the priest gave David the Word of God.
God’s purpose for Israel was to bring the Word of God to the world. Their lives were to be lived in such a way that God’s Word could be seen as well as heard. The same is true for us. God’s purpose for us is to live His Word even in difficult circumstances that others might see God’s Word in action as well as hear it.
David was a man after God's heart. He loved God and God was able to use him to accomplish His purpose.
The same is true for those who love God today. Let’s keep in mind that God is well aware of what we are going through today. Rather than grumble if it seems like we are faced with a negative event, let’s seek God's help to demonstrate His Word to the world around us that so desperately needs to know God. One day we, like David, will look back and say, “Wow, God really did far beyond anything I could ask or imagine”. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Grace and Peace
Pastor Dave