The anointed David’s early years were spent running from King Saul while trying to stay alive. Keeping his spirit sweet was also a big challenge. His top three generals were nephews who were loyal to a fault and could outfight anyone.
The first twenty chapters of Samuel are some of the most charismatic. Those years were an anvil on which the shepherd boy was hammered into a king who would be Israel’s greatest.
But worse times were ahead, as David found out after ascending to the throne of Israel. David “tarried in Jerusalem” in the spring, when kings went forth into battle, and sinned against one of his most loyal soldiers by arranging for the death in battle, to cover his adultery with the man’s wife. That evil act brought a threefold curse upon David’s household.
His generals’ answer to resolving bad relationships was to terminate them with their sword blades. David shouted: “What have I to do with you, sons of Zuriah?” The three were his nephews! King David’s throne — even his life — was later threatened by two of his own sons. We know from his most tortured psalms how those trials affected David’s heart.
All of which informs us that the battles we endure in attaining our God appointed goals may be less challenging than those we might have to deal with after achieving them. The First Book of Samuel is inspiring reading, but Second Samuel is very sobering. Hard fought aspirations of our own may not be the worst trials; worst ones can come after you achieve success.
Years ago, the Lord said in my heart: “The greatest time of temptation can come in the euphoria [that ‘walking on air’ feeling] that follows the moment of triumph.” In that moment, the best thing we can do is kneel before God and give Him all the glory, lest we sin by exulting over the achievement. David did that by “numbering Israel”, i.e. by counting his assets. We do so by listing the things that God has thus far achieved through us.
What if the real reason we have not attained our highest aspiration is that God knew we would not be able to handle the surge of power that follows the achievement, only to discover that our iron statue has feet of clay?
It is good to be thankful for the things God has done for us — while continuing to aspire to the “greater things” that Jesus said that we would do, regardless of personal problems that reappear from time to time. The default setting of the Lord’s people is not the Cross of the crucified Jesus where received forgiveness, but the Throne of the exalted Jesus our Great High Priest.
The greatest battles are not those that we win over our enemies, or over those who helped us to attain our destiny, but over the issues that we fight within ourselves.
In Psalm 40 David, isolated from those he loves, prays for God to help him get out of his situation. In Psalm 51 he prays for God’s forgiveness and restoration. Whatever issue we battle within, the Psalms reveal to us that those who lived long before us faced much the same and found the answers to them in the Book of Psalms.