Prepare For Destiny_1

So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” – 1Sam. 16:12 NIV

Prepare For Destiny Battles_1 24092020

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The Almighty God had decided to replace Saul as king of Israel and so got Samuel who was the priest at the time to go to the house of Jesse. That was the family that God had decided was going to produce the next king but God did not reveal more than that to Samuel – 1Sam. 16:1-3. It would have been a mixture of trembling and joy for Jesse on seeing Samuel at his doorstep. Trembling because it is not the usual for the Chief Priest of Israel to visit him so there was the probability of something wrong but joy when eventually he realised the reason for his mission – 1Sam. 16:4-5. He had come to consecrate and invite them to a sacrifice he was hosting, he told them but he knew there was more to that visit.

Jesse honoured the invitation of Samuel in the company of seven of his sons but Samuel knowing the reason why he invited them decided to go straight to that reason before the feast would begin. On sighting Eliab, he concluded he must be the choice of God for the position of the next king of Israel but probably to his utter dismay, it turned out that he was not God’s choice. Samuel probably had someone of the physical stature of Saul in mind believing that was God’s standard but he was informed that physical features did not mean much to God as much as the thoughts in the mind of man – 1Sam. 16:6-7. Same was the case with every other son that Jesse came with as God kept on rejecting them and this prompted Samuel to ask Jesse if he had any other son, after all, the Almighty God will not make a mistake and he had also been clear about the instruction he got from Him. Both positions turned out to be true as Jesse admitted he had another son who was not present – 1Sam. 16:8-11. Why he did not attempt to bring him along in the first place can only be for a reason known to him but God was not going to be deceived or confused by the acts of men.

David eventually arrived and the Bible described him as:
1. Glowing in health.
2. Having fine appearance.
3. Having handsome features.
Following the directives of the Almighty God, Samuel anointed David and left but the events that followed were complete opposite of what Samuel said was the reason for his action. The process of anointing is generally expected to be an indication for positive changes in the life of the anointed one but that did not appear to be the case in this instance. Whereas, Samuel came to anoint a king to be, the events that followed were more of journey into servitude and warring.
1. The anointing did not improve his life style, at least not immediately as he went back to what he was, a herdsman.
2. The anointing did not change the way family members related with him, as he was still that same person that should be left to tend the herd or at best be an errand boy for the father.
3. Just when he thought his fortunes were beginning to change by moving into the palace to be a spiritual exorcist for King Saul (1Sam. 16:4-23), a war of hatred and witch-hunting which had no meaningful foundation broke out, not with an ordinary person but the king himself – 1Sam. 18 – 1Sam. 20. How was he ever going to win a war with not just a king but an anointed one at that.
4. His anointing did not save him from being a fugitive, with the state declaring him as a persona non grata. It became a profitable venture for anyone who could deliver him to King Saul, alive or dead as a price was placed on him for his arrest – 1Sam. 21 – 1Sam. 31.

All these and more was the fate of a man who had just been anointed for greatness. However his faith in his God, his calmness during those periods and the preparation he had during those times taking care of the herd of his father, aided and prepared him for those battles and helped to ensure that he survived all the distress that his anointing seemed to have brought on him. Yes! The distress that his anointing brought on him because one doubts if he ever complained about being a herdsman. At least his appearance and his comments about his exploits indicated he was very happy and proud to be one – 1Sam. 17:34-37.

However, in the course of all these trials, his faith in God never waivered and there was no record of him referencing his anointing, either positively or negatively, as he faced squarely the challenges of his life. He probably saw them as life battles he had to face and he did it with very positive disposition.

The Christian today needs to realise that the path to destiny is never paved with gold. Those challenges that you are facing today are very important for your destiny fulfillment. They may actually have nothing to do with all those enemies you are targeting in your prayers. You are better off pleading with God to give you strength to go through them successfully rather than thinking of how to bring down or defeat that imagined enemy. Stopping those challenges that you call wars inconclusively may just be you truncating your journey to destiny. Brace up for the challenges of your life with the single intention of being victorious. Get out of the self pity mode. Stand up and fight your destiny battles. There is always spoils of war to gather after achieving success in that battle. Let that be your motivation as that may just be the destiny path that the Almighty God has designed for your life. Just as the Israelites were never going to get to their promised land without having to cross the Red Sea, you may also need to win those wars to get you to your life destination.

Prepare for your destiny battles because there will be no crown if you do not plan to successfully bear your cross. May God grant you the strength to achieve success in your destiny battles in Jesus name. Amen.