This Far
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that
you have brought me this far?” 2 Sam 7:18
David must have often looked with great amazement and wonder at how his life as a lowly shepherd
had transpired. He couldn’t help thinking while he was sitting on the throne about
the days when he was tending his father’s sheep in the wild.
“How could this be?” he exclaimed.
It seems quite impossible for someone’s life to turn out as David’s did, if we look at his life
from a human point of view. He didn’t come from a prominent family and he was the
most insignificant one among his brothers. How could such a humble person
become a king over a nation?
The shepherd boy was by no means ambitious, nor did he dream big dreams. In fact, David
would have been quite content being a shepherd his entire life, for his
greatest joy was meditating on the goodness of God and he would have had ample time
doing just that being a tender of sheep. He didn’t aspire to go all that far in
his life, yet the Lord decided to take him as far as he could go, both
physically and spiritually.
David would have had a lot of leisure cultivating his relationship with the Lord and his
intimacy with God would have been greatly enhanced had he remained a shepherd
his entire life, but that wasn’t what the Lord had planned for David’s life.
The Lord had something in mind for David to accomplish with his life and no one
was able to keep it from happening.
I used to dream about doing great things for the Lord, which naturally involved me
becoming well known in the world and well recognized by my peers, for my
perception of greatness was pretty tainted by worldliness. My idea of becoming
great in the Lord was no different from achieving greatness in the world.
How has the Lord brought you thus far?
David had never envisioned himself becoming a king over a nation and most likely did not aspire to become one, yet the Lord
made him one without consulting him. Although he had become a king, I think
David still viewed himself as a shepherd in many ways. His outward circumstances
surely had changed, but his inner self remained unchanged. David had gone
thousands of miles from his old self, yet as far as his love for the Lord was
concerned, he remained the same person as before.
Our circumstances may change constantly, but our love for God should remain
constant. Becoming a well known man would certainly do us harm if our status in
society caused us to perceive ourselves differently and to place ourselves
above all others. The weight of worldly glory may crush us and, if we are not
alert, we may be drowned by the waves of applause that rush toward us.