Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
…And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the [g]distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”
So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
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.”
Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him (1 Samuel 16:1, 11-23).
In the passage, we see the call, the anointing of David, and the first acts of David after stepping into the anointing. God picked David out from all the other eligible people in Israel. He singled out an ignored shepherd boy who worshipped God while watching sheep. He called David to be the next king. David didn’t choose it. He was called. Once David heard the call, the anointing flowed and enabled him to walk in his calling. Now, the call wasn’t fulfilled for over a decade, but he heard it and was anointed to do it, to fulfill it. Often, God will single us out, call us to do something we didn’t expect. We have to hear Him and come to Him for the anointing.
Reflect.
Ephesians 2:10 says that we are created by God to do good works. We are all created to do something for God. Have you heard the call of God in your own life? If so, what are you called to do? If not, what do think He might be calling you to do?
Prayer
If you have heard the call of God, pray for discernment and boldness to step out in the journey towards the fulfillment of that call. If you have not heard God’s call, spend some time in prayer this week and ask Him to show you what you are to do and where you are to go.
