From where does your joy come? What makes you dance with excitement and childlike jubilation? Our son Silas loves to make other people laugh, which is why he danced (above) for us on video a few weeks ago.
Consider what makes you want to dance, though. Then, what if that was suddenly gone? What if that circumstance that gives you great joy was changed, bringing about humiliation rather than jubilation?
Naturally, our first response in situations like that is to grumble, right? We are quick to complain when things do not go our way. If we do not feel like dancing (whether outwardly or inwardly), then we feel like complaining.
“I should not have to do this! Why me?”
…or…
“I cannot believe that this happened to me!”
Imagine, though, if we could respond to adversity and uncertainty with patience and humility, rather than self-entitlement and complaining. Impossible, right? Not if we look to the Lord for our joy and contentment.
Consider David in 1 Samuel 16-17. He had just been chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be the next king over Israel. Yet, he continued to honor his father by shepherding the family’s sheep and did seemingly unworthy tasks like running errands. Those are not jobs fit for a king!
Yet, it does not appear that David grumbled or made his case for why he should have been treated differently. He did what he was told to do, no matter how humiliating it was. How? Well, the answer to that question surely must be seen in 1 Samuel 16:13, which says, “…and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward.”
How can you respond to difficulty with humility and contentment and not with complaining and self-entitlement? Only by God’s grace. Only by the help of His Holy Spirit working in your heart.
Two verses we teach our kids to memorize at a young age are Paul’s words in Philippians 2:14-15 – “Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.”
Lord willing, I will be preaching on “Serving in Humility” (1 Samuel 16:14 – 17:19) Sunday morning, and I hope to challenge my hearers to not grumble but rather be humble when facing times of difficulty and/or uncertainty. We can learn a lot from King David, as his life points us to the ultimate King – King Jesus.
Know and follow Jesus, and seek His help to serve in humility no matter your circumstances. Jump for joy not because of who you are or because of what you can do, but rather because of who Jesus is and because of what Jesus has done and will eternally do.
DrakeCity 