If I tell you “Chronicles” is an epic story, the story you might associate with that statement is probably the Chronicles of Narnia. To be fair, that is indeed a great story. But what if I told you that was true of the biblical books as well?
1 Chronicles 10 is where King David takes over from King Saul. Saul dies an absolutely horrible death – his kingdom is taken over, his three sons are killed, and he ends his own life out of grief and pain. Verse 10:13 points out that Saul didn’t follow the Lord, and that these choices had led to the circumstances of his demise.
Then, the epic, HBO-worthy stories begin: When David takes over, he begins his reign by capturing the city of Jerusalem. The next few sections are dedicated to some epic warriors called “the Three,” who serve King David and are immensely powerful against their enemies.
Imagine a cinematic soundtrack underneath what is perhaps the most epic Old Testament story that you might have skipped: David tells the Three in verse 11:17: “How I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” That well was behind the enemy lines, and the Three fought through the Philistine defenses to draw water from that very well and brought it to King David.
You can imagine the soldiers who risked life and limb for their king proudly gazing through blood and sweat upon their gift to the person to whom they are loyal. Then: “But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. ‘God, forbid that I should drink this!’ he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” (11:18-19)
This might seem harsh, but the point is this: David saw all of it: his soldiers, their loyalty, the water from the holy land, etc., all as a blessing from God. There’s another story where David and Eleazar (one of the Three) fight together alone in a field after the rest of Israel’s army retreats. They stayed faithful to their brother in arms and had faith that God would deliver them to victory. As a result, the Bible says, “So the Lord saved them by giving them a great victory.” (11:14)
Your day is likely less epic than battles, wars, and legendary warriors. But what we shouldn’t miss is the contrast between the end of King Saul and the beginning of King David: While Saul found himself in a difficult position because he lived beyond his own calling and wasn’t faithful with what God had given him, David tasted victory because of his faithfulness. Notice that the Bible doesn’t say that God made some sort of miracle happen so David and Eleazar could win – we’ve seen plenty of mind-blowing descriptions of pillars of fire, plagues, and angelic beings by this point in Scripture. But no, David and Eleazar fought and saw victory because they were faithful.
Many of us are awaiting a victory where the odds seem stacked against us – maybe it’s a relational struggle, maybe it’s a medical diagnosis, maybe it’s challenges with employment or finances. The only thing we think will fix everything is a God-given miracle. But what if our God-given blessings that we already have are what we can honor? How might we be better stewards of what we have? Our challenge this week: how can we step into our current God-given blessings, instead of demanding future blessings now?