Unity through Trusting God
In the time before David became king of Israel, he was being persecuted heavily by an unjust ruler. In so many of these recorded moments, we can find in David's character an incredible trust in God that fostered more unity for all around him. The following passage helps me greatly because I, like many people, have a foolish tendency to want to be a loner and not work in unity with anybody. That is, or course, so wrong. With godly examples of unity in the scriptures, I can be a new man.
"Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold. David went out to meet them and said to them, 'If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.'" (1 Chronicles 12:16-17)
This example of unity through trusting God blows me away! David did not know these people. Yet he trusted what God would do to unify the relationship. Regarding these strange men in a chaotic time of war, David even "received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands" (1 Chronicles 12:18).
What can we learn from this? David's readiness for unity increased his capacity to accomplish great things for God. And his back-up plan (if anyone should betray him) was to simply trust God with whatever goes wrong.
Here are some related questions we can ask ourselves:
- Who are we unified with?
- Do we trust God?
- Are we an active part in something great?
- Are we willing to be more unified with others to grow?
- Would God be pleased with our level of unity with him... and others?
As one of the heroes of the Bible, David certainly was part of something truly grand. His trust in God was inspiring and it drew more people to God's kingdom, as we see from 1 Chronicles 12:22. "Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God."
So many people want to be part of something "great," and that is only natural. Yet we must learn from these and more historical examples. The way to greatness is to be unified with God, as well as anyone else who wants to be unified with the Lord's mighty purposes!
For those interested in reading more about the powerful and practical application of biblical unity in everyday life, my friend, Dr. Tim Kernan wrote an amazing book called 20/20 that I highly recommend.
To put our trust on the Lord.
This is the crux of everything. David trusted the Lord and did not ask for any assurances as to his trust. How could it be otherwise? Wouldn't be hypocritical to ask for any assurances from Him? Of course it would be!
He put his trust in Him and believed in His provision for Him. This is truly remarkable.
This is real trust in God! An example for us all!
Thanks for sharing this, Joe! No man is an island, especially in the church.
just believe in him :)
to be sincere I do not believe in god.
Thanks for sharing. I used to be the same way in my beliefs, and I can recall clearly; it left me personally quite cold on the inside. Yet many people were praying for me, and after studying the Bible, I soon became amazed at the truths and sincere goodness that God offers to everyone. I will pray for you!
I love to pray for me. I am pleased to ask for my goodness, but I do not believe in God.
An encounter will help you., my dear
I trust God so much
good post
Great article! God created us to need leadership and unity, and it's so much more fun to be around each other when we have a heart that wants to be unified.