“Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” 1 Samuel 16:18
In our anchor scripture this morning, a vacancy had arisen in the palace of king Saul! He had become ill and needed someone skilled in playing a musical instrument to minister to him every time he had his attacks or episodes. One of the servants in the palace responded to him with the words in our anchor scripture, describing David. He said, I know one of the sons of Jesse who is very skilled at playing the instrument, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, disciplined and Godly. As I meditated on this scripture, I realized that David had cultivated strong habits, patterns and actions even when he had never dreamt of getting close to the palace.
Here was a neglected child, sent out to take care of the sheep while his step-brothers would wine and dine and make merry. He could have chosen to be bitter. To be cynical. To be critical and to give every excuse as to why he would not better himself but he didn’t. He made the best use of his loneliness and deprivation. He began to add value to himself however he could. He learnt to play an instrument. He probably had to use crude equipment, probably sticks and funny things he picked up from the wilderness to make the harp and then he began to teach himself. He trained himself to fight any attacker while taking care of the sheep in the wilderness and meditated so much on scripture that his speech became prudent. No guile. No rudeness. No bitterness towards those who were better than him! And then one day, opportunity came!
The message this morning is simple. Opportunity would come. That is given. What isn’t is how prepared you will be. David never dreamt he would see the palace but he improved himself anyway, and when the opportunity came, he was ready! I know you may be far from a palace right now and may be thinking that this is the highest level you can ever get to. God is in the business of sending opportunities – He will send the opportunities but you MUST work on yourself! Improve your self. Read more books. Study scriptures more. Be polite. Train yourself to do something of value. Enroll for a course. Prepare yourself! These things aid you! They make you a better person! No one can take the value these things will add away from you! Also be nice to people! David must have met the servant prior to the time our anchor scripture is set and must have been very nice to him for him to have left such a great impression! Be nice to everyone you meet – you just never know who may be your bridge from the wilderness to the palace!
Improve yourself! Be prepared and God will help us all in Jesus name!
Prayer:
Father in the name of Jesus. Thank you for your word. Give us the grace to constantly improve ourselves so that on the day our opportunity comes knocking, we would not miss it! Take all the glory Almighty God, in Jesus mighty name we have prayed!
