Sometimes, it’s easy to get comfortable, to settle into how God is working in our lives. As soon as we do that, it’s inevitable that God will send something into our lives to shake us up. He will use that thing to develop and strengthen our faith and ultimately move us forward.

David’s Anointing

Samuel, the prophet, shows up one day to Jesse’s house. He skips over all of Jesse’s older sons and waits for David, the youngest of all of them. David leaves his sheep and comes to see Samuel. God tells Samuel to anoint David as the next king of Israel.

What’s interesting to note is that David does not actually become king for another fifteen years! That’s a long time to wait on God.

David’s New Job

It’s not long after David is anointed that the king sends for David to come to the palace. The king’s advisers have told him about David, that he is a talented musician. So Saul sends for David and asks him to come be his own personal musician.

Can you imagine David’s face or his father’s face when they get the summons? They were probably scared to death that the king had actually found out about David’s anointing. They probably thought that King Saul was going to kill David as soon as he got to the palace.

Amazingly enough, Jesse trusts God enough to send his youngest son to the king, even though he fears that Saul has already or will soon uncover the truth.

David’s Faith

Can you imagine the fear David must have felt when he arrived at the palace? If anybody learned his secret or if the king found out, he would immediately be killed. In spite of all this, David stays at the palace and serves Saul. He plays music for him when he’s distressed, he fights his battles for him, and leads his soldiers.

Standing Firm in Our Faith

Sometimes, God leads us to do things that don’t make sense, that make us fearful. When it comes to times like this, we can either trust God and move forward or let our fear keep us from accomplishing whatever it is God wants us to do.

I was reading in the book of Isaiah this week. God gives a message to his people through Isaiah the prophet. This is what he says:

Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.

Isaiah 7:9

When God’s ready to move, we have to be ready as well. We have to develop and strengthen our faith, so that when the time comes, God can help us stand firm in our faith.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post Developing a Faith that’s Strong Enough to Stand On or check out Lysa TerKeurst’s book, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God and Walk in Faith.