1 Samuel 17: 25-27
David has just watched the troops of Israel retreat in fear. They start huddling in groups trying to get their wits together, talking through this situation. There must be a remedy. And now there was a reward to consider. Whoever can take down the giant-man, gets a special prize! But who is able?
Day after day. Morning and Evening. The same gathering of the troops. The same battle cry to rally each man to the battle line. The same result. Run away in fear.
What has changed as we get to this part of the story? A man filled with the Spirit of the LORD. He didn’t like what he was hearing. This giant-man was disgracing the army. David saw him as uncircumcised, unclean. Goliath was against and defying the armies of the Living God. A man arrived on the scene and saw past the physical of the situation and saw into the spiritual. The Spirit of the Living God was rising up within this chosen warrior to see what his mission for the day was to be.
The timing is relevant in this story and in situations in our lives. After 40 days and 40 nights, the Lord arranges for someone to come on the scene who will assess the situation and let the Spirit of the Lord move him into action. (Does this remind anyone of other stories in the Bible where there is a change after 40 days and nights?)
What is interesting in this story is that the Lord made it possible for David to not only see what was going on, but He made it possible that he would overhear that there was a reward. A reward? Does the Lord really want us to receive rewards on this side of heaven?
But this wasn’t just a task to get a reward. There was a drive behind it. There was a purpose behind it. When the correct task is before us, and there is a purpose, there is a reward that fits the situation, something that is assigned.
In our story, King Saul offered up royal rewards. He offered marriage to his royal family, wealth, and even freedom from taxes for his family. Did it start out with such a wonderful booty? Or did it start out with a monetary reward, which grew as the days kept going on and on as they were waiting for the right warrior to appear?
There are times when the right person needs to appear at just the right time for the Lord’s solution to appear. The answer may be for both the person arriving on the scene and for others they impact as well.
The person who came to the scene was David. God knew what He was doing. Even the reward would be tailor-fit for a future king-to-be. He was already in service to the King when they needed a harp player. Now the Lord was setting up a situation where he would be inserted not as a servant, but as part of the family. Being of service to royalty is one situation, but can you imagine the dynamics of being part of the royal family? David already dealt many times with his older seven brothers. In gaining this specific reward, he would be dealing with a very different type of family. There was more preparation and training that the Lord wanted David to experience on his path to becoming a king. Yes, a tailor-fit reward.
How would this apply in our lives today? Are there tailor-fit rewards in our lives that rise up before us? Are there tasks that we are the ones that are equipped to fight a specific battle? Is there a situation that is something that we know within our hearts and minds that we can take care of when we see others around us that are not equipped?
During this series of writing about David and Goliath, a situation came specifically into my office at work. It was a situation that was within my ability to take care of where others were not. And to be frank, the unknowns about the situation, and what would occur as I faced the unknown, especially potential consequences, fueled concerns within me. Was I to act on the information that was presented before me?
But here is another example of where it was not just about the physical that was evident, there was a spiritual component. When the Lord has assigned us and given us the ability to perform a specific role in a battle, the Spirit of the Lord will rise up within us to start acting and asking questions.
In my story, there wasn’t a physical reward that I could hear about or have as a driver to motivate me to action. But I know in my heart that what we are led to do in this world doesn’t always have a physical reward. At times it is spiritual. It has been a learning experience for me as I am writing and reflecting on this story to bring me into a deeper understanding of the ways of the Lord and the workings of His Holy Spirit. I needed to act, and I am continuing to see how the Lord is providing support in various ways in others’ lives. That is a reward.
And speaking of the spiritual side of a matter, that reminds us that there is a reward on the other side of heaven. We know this also exists as we have several indications in God’s Word that teach us this concept. For example, Paul was encouraging Timothy in the tasks he was assigned in the ministry the Lord placed him on.
“I have fought the food fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8
“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippines 4:12b-14
“See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies Him.” Isaiah 40:10
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:27
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” Rev 22:12
What we do, and what we are assigned to do may be within a battle. But there is a reward when we are on assignment from the Lord.
Where is our specific task to perform? What have we been assigned to do? Whom have we been assigned to? When we are a child of God and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, He leads us on the path we need to go to fulfill the calling He has in our lives. It may not be obvious as we go out to run an errand that day. But something rises up in our path that says, “This is the task I need you to do, and there truly is a reward in store when completed.”
He is driving us to move forward to the next step, the next day in our lives, the next task to tackle, whether it looks great or small. Our life’s journey on this side of eternity may not always be easy. But the process of the fruit that we will bring forth, the fruit that results from our labor, is well worth the reward that waits for us on the other side of eternity.
One of the greatest rewards we receive on this side of heaven is getting to know our Father in Heaven and coming to know Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We get to experience being part of His royal family and the perks that come with that. This side and the other side of heaven.
So as David was interested in the reward that he would receive if he were to take on the giant-man, are we not interested in the reward we are to receive as we battle an enemy here on earth? The reward waiting for us on the other side of eternity is beyond our imagination. But we are given hints in His Word. What about those gold streets?
