Living in the "wow"

 DEVOTION

1^st SAMUEL

LIVING IN THE ‘WOW’

1 Samuel 16:8-13

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." 12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

NIV

“He is the One” are the words of the LORD regarding David, the one whom the LORD found to be after His own heart. Of course, at this time in David's life, his role in Israel is just beginning. Samuel was a man of God; he followed the directions of the LORD. The Spirit was upon him, and he heard from the LORD and did whatever the LORD told him. He anointed a shepherd boy to be the king of Israel. We know that David will become a mighty warrior and leader of his army against enemies of Israel, but at the time Samuel anointed him, he was simply a shepherd boy, the youngest son of Jesse. However, the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Something changed within him, and he was no longer the same. Here is where we enter the story. First, we were just a simple person, nothing impressive, although we were younger, in fact, the youngest in the family, and not thought of as a warrior, or a man’s man, but just a boy. Yet, at some point in life, the Lord found us and anointed us to be one of his own. The Spirit of the Lord came upon us, and we began a journey of a lifetime. There are certain things in life we get to experience that are those ‘Wows’, a once-in-a-lifetime event that rocks our world. But this journey with the Lord is a lifetime of “wows”. Although David had the Spirit of the LORD upon him in power, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us all the days of our lives, with power. We know that David did mighty things in his life, even being an imperfect man. Because we have the Spirit of the Lord upon, or within, we are the one the Lord has anointed. Are we to do great things for the Lord, for his kingdom? It would seem that because the Spirit is within us with power, we have the ability we never had before the Spirit came upon us with power. We were changed, never to be the same, never to walk in weakness again, never to be a simple shepherd boy, but we are now a mighty warrior of God, clothed in his armor and able to take our stand against the forces of evil in this world and in the spiritual realm. David was going to be living in the “wow” as king, and we can live in the “wow” all the days of our lives, because the Spirit of the Lord is within us.