I Chronicles 12:8
“From the Gadites valiant mighty men went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness, men trained for war who could handle a large shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains.”
David had just become king. An earlier verse said that “David became stronger and stronger, for the Lord was with him.” Then came several verses describing David’s mighty men. Today’s verse is one of them. It’s an intimidating description, if we were a foe.
God blessed these individuals as warriors. We all have gifts and talents. God equips us in our own way for our own time. When the tabernacle was being constructed and all the furniture, several were spoken of as having been blessed with talent.
Ephesians 4:11 speaks of how God provides people in roles to build up and bless the body of Christ, “And He gave some indeed to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers.” At different levels, we all have roles. Some are very significant, like these mighty men. What’s interesting is that they even look the part, “their faces were as the faces of lions”. Sometimes our appearances have a purpose. That’s usually God’s business. However, our attitude and demeanor influences our appearance.
Our role helps our self image. That’s been a big deal with modern culture. There is some merit there. Not as much as our culture tells us, but it’s a factor. God wants us to feel good about ourselves. He loves us and wants to encourage us. Much of this comes from serving others. As we help others our self image is bolstered.
What’s interesting about this is that it doesn’t come from focusing on ourselves. That’s were our culture gets it wrong. Mark 8:34 says, ‘And having summoned the crowd with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross, and let him follow Me.”‘ Getting our attention off ourselves and on to others builds self worth. The exact opposite way of the world. It says to go easy on yourself, indulge yourself. Jesus says, “deny yourself”.
God has gifted us uniquely to serves the body of Christ as well as those whom we come across. I Corinthians 12:12 says, “The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.” This is similar to our focus on roles, but slightly different. There is a use for who we are. Some are joyful, others are caring, others are leaders and so on.
Our gift isn’t for everyone. We would be too busy and overwhelmed, if it were. We shouldn’t be upset if some don’t appreciate us. They are doing us a favor. We don’t need to waste our time and effort on them. Not in a bitter way, just moving on to the next one. We will connect with the ones God brings our way. That’s where we spend our time.
This leads to a wonderful life. Walking with Christ and serving others. It becomes second nature to deny ourselves. We’ve learned God’s ways. It’s how He goes. He seeks to assist all along the way. Matthew 12:20 says of Jesus, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He leads justice to victory.” Some are bruised reeds and wicks ready to go out. He reaches in and cups it, to keep the wind from blowing it out.
Jesus wants us to mend the bruised reeds and keep others flames going. That’s loving them. God uses our unique personalities to do this.
God equips us to do so with His power. The gifts are from Him, the opportunities are from Him and the empowering comes from Him. Thank You, Lord. He brings us to places where we want more or desperate for more. Some times He just gives it.
Lord, thank You that You work in us to help us to work with others. What a blessing to walk this way. We had no clue what You had in store for us. You’ve blessed us. You’ve given us roles, You’ve given us gifts, You’ve given us opportunities and You’ve given us power. Thank You, Lord.