Jesse sent David to check on his brothers and take them some food. He just wanted to hear that his sons were surviving the war. David, so unassuming, arrives on the scene to find that Goliath has stalled the war out with his threats and challenges. The Israelites, including David's brothers, were frozen in fear and unsure what to do. David started asking all the right questions. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?
The next thing you know, David's getting ready to go take down the giant. He never stated anything otherwise. In fact, he told King Saul that he had killed a lion and bear on occasion when they threatened his sheep. Now that's a caretaker. David didn't see Goliath as more than anything threatening to harm what was his. But David's brother, Eliab, felt differently. He asked David, openly, on purpose, and just to try to demean and discourage him (in his own sight and in others), where are those little sheep you take care of?
David didn't bat an eye, but just kept on asking, what do I get when I kill the giant? He was laser focused on protecting what was God's. His brother just saw him as a caretaker of sheep.
Caregiving is an honor. We are trusted with caring for a loved one. But those who do not understand the totality of that think we are "just a caretaker." Boy, that's not the whole picture at all! We are not sitting around just taking care of our loved one's needs - there's not much sitting involved at all, actually. Lol. While we do that well - just let something rare up against us or threaten the safety of our loved one - the dragon slayer will come out!
Eliab missed the whole point. The caretaker, David, in this case, would move heaven and earth, lions and bears, giants and big brothers to protect what was his and God's. Holding on to faith in the middle of the fight often takes the same tenacity, doesn't it? We are not "just" caregivers. We are lion slayers. We are bear chasers. We are get out of my way so we can take care of this situation people who know how to trust God for victory day after day.
And sometimes - that's just to keep our heads above the proverbial waters so our faith stays alive and our hearts stay connected to God. As difficult as caregiving can be - the fight to perservere in our faith is the real battle.
Today, I'll remind myself that God is with me in this battle and I'm not facing today's giants alone - or as a caregiver. I'm facing each of them as an anointed, chosen child of God. I'm so thankful for the spiritual things that did not change when I took on caregiving. My meditations today will be on how He continues to sustain me, watch over my soul, and remind me that I am His. So, I can trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?
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Book of the Week!
1 John Study Guide
· Are you a new Christian and you’re not sure how to build the habit of Bible reading?
· Have you been looking for some encouragement to read your Bible?
· What if it was actually very easy to read 5 minutes a day?
· Do you need some practical and applicable ideas for developing Bible reading habits?
Do you want to encourage a new believer in their Christian walk?
Grab a copy of 21 Days! I initially wrote it for the youth group
I was pastoring to encourage them to develop the habit of reading their Bible
every day. A scripture is provided for
each day, along with a thought or two about it. Then, there are more scriptures
to read if there is time. The whole point is to make it easy to incorporate
Bible reading into your daily schedule. It can be done in 5 minutes, or you can
take up to 30 if you have the time. The point is just READ!
In the back of the book is a helpful list of actions you can
take to help you incorporate Bible reading into your daily schedule. Use it
over and over again, or gift it to someone who wants to learn how easy and
rewarding it is to read the Bible every day.
Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf
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