“Go, I have already prepared the way!”
“But Samuel said, “How can I go?. . .”
(1 Samuel 16: 2a NASB)
Have we ever felt God calling us to leave, to go, to come away from a specific place to go to a new place He is calling us to go?
GO!
This morning, I enjoyed the re-reading of 1 Samuel 16, the Scripture where God directed Samuel to GO & to anoint the new king of Israel that God had already chosen. In the recalling of the biblical narrative, one specific thing struck me in its importance.
GOD MAKES THE WAY BEFORE WE EVEN TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO OBEY HIS CALL TO GO!
Wow!
That truth settled within me, deeper this morning, as I read this narrative that I have studied many times. (I love how God reveals His Truth to us day-by-day as we study His Word.)
- “Now the LORD said to Samuel, . . .” (1 Samuel 16:1a NASB)
- “But Samuel said, “How can I go?. . .” (1 Samuel 16: 2a NASB)
- “But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD,’ And you shall invite Jesse [the father of the shepherd-boy David] to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you.” (1 Samuel 16: 2b-3 NASB)
- “So Samuel did what the LORD told him, . . .” (1 Samuel 16: 4a NASB)
In four verses, God reveals how we are to obey Him!
In four verses, God shows us how He has already prepared the way!
In four verses, God removes all our hinderances!
In four verses, God reminds us how He will faithfully walk with us through whatever circumstance, whatever task, and whatever situation HE DIRECTS US TO GO & DO!
“Go, I have already prepared the way!”
If we remember the rest of the biblical narrative, then we remember how the prophet Samuel traveled to Bethlehem, and when he arrived, how the elders of the city thought Samuel had come as a foe and not a friend. We recall how Samuel spoke words of peace to them, and how this obedient prophet then invited Jesse and his sons to attend the sacrifice too.
If we remember the many revelations from this Scripture, then we are reminded how God sees our heart & the fruit of the Spirit that grows there inside us (just as God also sees the unproductiveness of our heart).
If we look into our mirror, then we see our outward appearance, and we find ourselves praising our “looks” or upset by the way we look on the outside. Despite how we look on the outside, what matters most is the “appearance of our hearts.” That day, the prophet Samuel was searching, not for the most handsome son Jesse paraded before him but for the son whom God had already chosen.
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God does not see as man sees, since man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16: 7 NASB)
If we have studied this particular passage before, then we know the resolution of the narrative, the way each son Jesse paraded before the prophet was rejected UNTIL Jesse sent for his youngest son who was out in the pasture tending his sheep.
If we remember, then we recall how David was anointed the next king of Israel.
“So he sent word [Jesse did] and brought him in [Jesse brought in his youngest son, David]. Now he was reddish, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said,
(1 Samuel 16: 12 NASB)
“Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”
[TRULY GOD’S WILL, GOD’S PLAN IS SO MUCH GREATER THAN MAN’S!]
- I find myself amazed at the working of our LORD!
- I find myself humbled at the way the LORD allows us to become part of His Will!
- I find myself convicted at the many times I said, “No, LORD!” (an oxymoron if there ever was one)!
- I find myself ashamed at the many times I missed the opportunity God gave me to be part of His plan for my day!
If we have studied this biblical narrative, then we will recall how King Saul was currently the King of Israel—even as God led Samuel to anoint David as King of Israel, and truly, there cannot be TWO kings at the same time.
If we remember, God allowed King Saul to be tormented with an evil spirit, and we recall how the king’s attendants searched for a way to bring comfort to their king.
If we REMEMBER, then we also REMEMBER HOW GOD MADE THE WAY FOR KING DAVID TO MOVE INTO THE PALACE—EVEN BEFORE THE CURRENT KING HAD ABDICATED THE THRONE!
Truly, God’s ways are higher than man’s ways!
“So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, ‘Send me your son David, who is with the flock.”
(1 Samuel 16: 19-21 NASB)
And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine, and he took a young goat, and sent them to Saul by his son David.
Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul greatly loved him,
and he became his armor bearer.”
[King David became the armor bearer for King Saul.]
[TRULY GOD’S WAYS ARE SO MUCH HIGHER THAN MAN’S!]
- GOD MAKES THE WAY BEFORE WE EVEN TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO OBEY HIS CALL TO GO!
- HE DIRECTS US TO GO & DO!
- GOD SEES THE HEART OF MAN, NOT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE!
- GOD EXPECTS HIS CHILDREN TO BECOME FRUITFUL!
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
(Galatians 5: 22-25 NASB)
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.”
Please Pause and Listen to this most beautiful melody that proclaims what we so need to remember. “Big God” by Terrian.
Is God calling us to leave—to go—to do a particular task—to speak our testimony to someone who does not know Him as Savior—to come away from a specific place to go to a new place He is calling us to go—to do something that seems totally impossible?
May we faithfully follow God’s will for our lives THIS DAY, fully recalling God’s Promise—
“Go, I have already prepared the way!”