Noah and David

I taught this weekend about Noah.  Couple weeks ago about David.  What I have been seeing lately in these familiar tales is the idea that David killing Goliath and Noah building the ark is not really the story.   The story really is about what happened before.  The story is more about the prequel than the sequel.  I am seeing God more at work in the preparation leading up to these events than the actual events.  

There are so many circumstances that prepare David for Goliath.  So much so that I really wonder how much of Dave Vs. Goliath was actually God actively working that day.  I see the hand of God guiding David through his life to prepare him for that point more than God miraculously working through a young David to kill the giant.  David is the youngest in his family.  This gives him the task of watching sheep. This task give Dave the opportunity to kill bears and lions. This develops incredible courage and fighting skills. Watching sheep also give Dave a lot of time sitting around being able to work on his harp playing.  The harp playing creates a relationship between David and King Saul.  David plays the harp to soothe him.  The killing of Goliath required great courage, skills, and David knew the king which gave him the OK to go fight the giant.  Also David is at home watching sheep when Goliath is taunting the “army” of Israel.  David wasn’t in the army.  If he had approached Goliath with army tactics he would have been killed.  Was God more at work making David the youngest in his family or guiding a stone into a giant’s forehead?

Take also Noah.  Ya Noah built an ark and saved all of humanity and the earth’s wildlife.   Was this the big deal? We certainly make it out to be. Or was it more significant that the beginning of Noah’s story said he was a righteous man, the only blameless person on the face of the earth and that he walked closely with God?   

I think we as followers of Jesus like to focus more on the event rather than the preparation.   The event is sexy and exciting.  A boy killing a giant or a single man saving humanity from God’s wrath.  I think we do this because we want God to use us in incredible ways without the work God needs to do in us to prepare us for incredible things.  We want God to wave his wand and do something magical through us. 

Ephesians 2:10 says that God planned the good he wanted us to do and then created us to accomplish that good.  You are the way you are so you can do what God wants you to do.  

Do I want God to do something incredible through me with wanting God to do something incredible in me?

You will never accomplish an audacious mission from God without audacious obedience to him.