Characteristics of Young Davids....continued

The first characteristic of Young Davids was faithfulness. (If you didn't read the first part of this series, please feel free to do so.)

The second characteristic that needs to be understood is that Young Davids are willing to tackle whatever task is placed in front of them to do.

Disclaimer.....in a way. I should point out that the goal of a Young David is not to get away with the sins King David committed but to be known as a man or woman "after God's own heart." We can't excuse David's behavior. And he didn't try to excuse himself. Just as David did, we have to learn own up to our own sin; confess our sin; repent of our sin; and then move forward into the things God has prepared in advance for us to do. Sin derails us from staying the course, but the forgiveness, mercy and grace of God help us get back to where we need to be.

As a shepherd, David was given the responsibility to find good pasture; water; and safety for his father's flock. We also know that he probably spent time practicing with his sling; playing his harp; and writing poems/songs.

we also know that David's father would also assign him other tasks to do besides watching sheep. For example in 1 Samuel 17:15 we discover that Jesse, David's father, would ask him to go to the battle front to take supplies to his brothers and gifts to the King.

David could have opted out....I think...and said, "No, I'm a shepherd," or "No, I'm a poet/musician and can't get involved in situations such as that." Or he could have said, "I'm the Lord's anointed and can't get involved with low level supplies line duty such as this." But he didn't say those things. He did what was assigned to him to do. And I also find it interesting, he didn't look for someone to delegate the task to. (I've seen some folks who spend more time and energy searching for someone to do the menial tasks than it would have taken for them to simply get it done. But since they were above and beyond doing things like that or because it wasn't their job.........you know people like that too.....don't you? Sure hope we don't ever do that.)

There was also a point when the shepherd, supply clerk and poet was asked to come and play his harp before the king to calm him down. Again, David willingly did so.

I was thinking about this the other day. What if David, after he had been anointed by Samuel to be the second king of Israel, refused to do these things. After all, he was to be the next king. How would it look to have the crown placed on the kings head and it slipped down because he was missing an ear from a battle with a lion or a bear?

I don't know how conscious David was of being the next king, but I do know that he had an attitude of "get it done" or "getter done" long before a cable guy named Larry came along.

Always in Pursuit!