Have you ever found yourself in a dilemma? One where you had no clue what to do next? In such moments, oh, how you crave to hear from God on what exactly to do! An instruction in that moment is literally worth everything! You just know that once you obey that instruction, everything else will fall in place, right? Obedience has such a strong impact on reality. Often times, the size of our obedience is so little, relative to its capacity to turn things around in our favour.
So, David was once in such a dilemma. After one of his war trips with his men, upon his return to base, Ziklag; he realised that the Amalekites had made a massive raid on their town. They had burned the town down and carted away the women and children—the wives and children of David and his men. Then suddenly, all the men decided it was the fault of David, the “leader”, that their town was burned and their families kidnapped. Oh the burden of Leadership! The same man who also lost 2 wives and children to the raid is suddenly the reason for the distress… how convenient! But that’s the reality of human nature; people in distress rationalise until they find someone to hang for their predicament. The hanged head may not be the right head, but it matters little to the heart that needs respite… as long as there’s a hanging!
So, they all turned their backs on David. David looked everywhere, and there was not a single person on his side, but he knew The Lord was on his side, so he encouraged himself in The Lord. He also asked The Lord if he should pursue the Amalekites (which I find weird; I mean, who asks God whether to track a phone that has just been stolen? 🤷🏽♂. The level of Priesthood David showed is just unreal!) The Lord gave the nod and said he should pursue, that he would recover all that was stolen; the one instruction that changes everything!
And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. — 1 Samuel 30:8 KJV
That was all The Lord said: Pursue, and you will overtake until you recover all! (Oh, how many revival meetings have heralded this theme! 😄)
The Lord told David to pursue and that he’d recover everything, but The Lord did not tell David that his victory would be dependent on his love walk. Imagine you just lost your entire Family to a kindnap operation and all your properties; laptop, phones, documents, everything! And you have God’s permission to chase after them with the assurance of recovering everything. Then some dude comes along and starts talking to you about how his daughter needs some medication for her cold and that he needs some “assistance” from you. How would you react?
Back to David!
As David and his men began to pursue the Amalekites, they found a man who was famished in the fields. To be honest, his “famishment” was not supposed to be their business. They had their entire clan and Families to rescue, who cares if some person is hungry, right? 🤷🏽♂
But not David… David attended to him. Gave him bread, water, and cakes made with figs and raisins. Remember, their homes had been raided. They would definitely have gone great lengths to find that meal for the man (this is an aside; brothers need to know how to cook too. All the mothers and wives were gone, yet this delicacy emerged… 🤔 Food for thought.) There was an unusual patience about it. The mind-blowing part is that David did not know the identity of the young man before he did him good. That means, he had no expectation of a reward or benefit from the good he was rendering to the man. And he did this when he was experiencing one of the worst days of his life. King Achish, his ally, had betrayed him 3 days before, his Family had been stolen, and his men were about to stone him. Yet this man, David, cared about a man he never knew from Adam. He didn’t do this after his family had been rescued, he did that at the most unlikely time for pleasantries and hospitality. Moreover, every hour spent caring for this man, was one more hour away from the Amalekites. There was absolutely no justifiable reason why David would act so kindly!
Many of us give ourselves excuses to act nasty towards others on our bad days. Woe betides the colleague that tries to make a joke on us the day we get a query, or the subordinate that chooses to ask his silly questions on the day your wife offends you.
David had his wives kidnapped, his children taken, his men raided, and he still had the composure to help a needy man, when he himself was, in fact, a lot needier! Such a man!
After David and his men revived this man, that was when they realised that he was an Egyptian who was a servant to one of the Amalekites who had raided Ziklag! Of course, he was more than willing to lead them to the tent of spoils!
To think that his Master left him because he was sick! A prospering Master did not have the kind virtue to help his sick servant, someone who had served him for a season (reminds me of a certain Centurion who did the exact opposite). Yet, a Man in distress would help a man he had never met before. Indeed, kindness has nothing to do with how much you’ve got in your account or how good things are going for you. Kindness is a heart disposition that isn’t affected by conditions! Had he helped his sick servant, David doesn’t get the Intel about their location and doesn’t smite them with the sword. Hmmn, the kindness you’re not showing, is costing you!
So, David showed kindness on one of his worst days in life. How much kindness do you show on your best days?
But here’s the catch!
God told David to pursue, that he would recover, but never revealed to David how the recovery would happen. Listen friends, it doesn’t matter how clearly you say you heard God, your love walk is either undermining the victory that instruction is designed to accomplish or aiding it. You cannot be led of God into victory, whilst negating the tenets of Love.
How many clear instructions have been sabotaged by an unforgiving spirit? How many clear instructions from the throne of Grace have been undermined by a mean attitude? A rude response? A dismissive look? How many? God will give the instruction, but Love will pave the way into victory! Some instructions will be clear, others will be implied in your love walk. You will never hear some types of instructions from God, only a heart grade of kindness can entertain a dimension of the godhead that will unlock the blessings you seek… The way Abraham entertained Angels unaware.
Could it be, that the pathway to recovering Ziklag isn’t particularly straightforward? It isn’t just, “God told me this, I did that, and there it is!” It’s often a matter of “God told me this, I served my brothers, I forgave my boss, I interpreted dreams for strangers, and there it is!
Ziklag’s rescue is often found in the Zigzag!
I hope this blessed your heart like it did mine. Do well to share this with someone you love.
God bless your heart.
Have a kindness-filled week.
Dami Oguntunde