Who am I, Lord God and
what is my family?
David was a shepherd boy, forgotten by his own
father when Prophet Samuel visited their home looking for God’s choice of
anointing the next leader. All his
brothers lined up before prophet Samuel, until God alerted him that Jesse had
one more son, who was forgotten in the fields where he was shepherding his
family flock. David was a man after
God’s own heart and was chosen to succeed King Saul.
At the end of his long kingship, David was
ready to handover the throne to his son Solomon. In his last recorded prayer to the Lord,
David, the giant killer, the great warrior, the statesman declares in the
presence of God – that he was unknown until God made him known. David is
overwhelmed at the mercy of God on his life and his family and he acknowledges
the sovereignty of God. He worships God
for who he is and for what God has done for His people. (1 Chronicles 17:16-19, 29: 11-12)
Success often flatters us. We forget that with
our own efforts we may not have been successful. We forget to give glory to God. How many times we attribute our success in
our academics, in our career, in our sports and even in our physical health to
our own hard work and discipline. We forget
the grace of God that enables us to be successful.
In today’s generation, it is important to list
your achievements, display your trophies and medals of honour so that the world
will applaud and reward you. Even If you
are a young starter applying for your first job, you are required to have an
impressive ‘CV’ or ‘Resume’ and feel proud of yourself showing your self
confidence. The world says blow your trumpet on the social media. Peter advises
us “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you
up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Jesus teaches us to say that “we are unworthy
servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17:10)
Paul, the apostle writes “I consider
everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord…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. (Philippians
3:7-14.) May the Lord continue to affirm His calling in each of our lives!
John Amalraj, February 2018
