David and His Harp

Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him. And Saul's servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.” Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. (1 Samuel 16:14-23 ESV). David’s name shows up in the Bible more than 1,100 times. He was known as a man after God’s own heart. A city was named after him, and Jesus even borrowed his name to refer to himself: “Son of David.” No one saw David’s potential before it unfolded though. His own father did not even count him as an option when Samuel came looking for a king. But the Lord saw something in David that no one else could see, not even David himself. “The Lord does not see as mortals see.” When the Bible first introduces us to David he shows up as a forgotten child left to menial tasks. He initially enters the stage of God’s salvation drama as an apparent “extra.” In fact, he was relegated to being the court musician for King Saul when he had a “harmful spirit.” David was little more than entertainment for the king when he was in a bad mood. But God saw something else. God chose David to play one of the most significant roles in salvation history. Our God is the one who consistently sees things differently. God sees a redemption role for us in the large salvation drama that continues to unfold in history. Most of us may never end up playing a David-sized part, but each of us is still an important character in the drama. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you may be doing today, God sees something for you that no one else may be able to see. Keep walking in the grace of God, taking each step as he directs and you will find peace in all your life.