“Samuel said, “Send for him (David) we will not sit down until he arrives” (I Samuel 16:11b).
Thank God the holidays are over. It hasn’t come soon enough for some of us. The Christmas tree and ornaments are or will be taken down soon. The guest bedrooms can be our storage room again. The children will be back to school or to the universities. Life is finally settling down again. We’re back to our normal routine and everybody knows what they have to do this coming week.
Jesse had an unexpected guest knocking on his door. It was Samuel. Jesse had seven sons and they were handsome and even strong men. Samuel thought to himself, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” To his surprise, it was none of the sons that came before him. So, he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” So Samuel commanded Jesse to send for him.
What happens next is peculiar. One would think that everyone would sit down and have a cup of tea, coffee or water. That would be the correct social etiquette to be seated, but Samuel said that we will not sit down until he arrives. I am quite sure Jesse sent his fastest runner to get David. We’re not told how long they stood or what they spoke about during the intervening time period. It must have been an awkward situation or a very serious situation!
The first thing that we do when we come home is sit down or at least want to sit down. We all want to plop down on our sofa or bed and chill out for a few minutes. However, there are times when things have to be done as putting away the grocery, getting ready to cook dinner, check our text and email messages, etc. Each of us have our routines for the day.
For Samuel, there was one overwhelming task that needs to be done first. It was important enough for him NOT to sit down until the task God gave him was completed. He was to anoint one of the sons of Jesse and that was David.
2025 is upon us. What is it that you will not “sit down” until it is done? What has placed on your heart, our hearts to complete for Him? Is it to unceasingly pray for our new senior pastor? Is it to see the salvation of your son or daughter? Is it to see new church leaders in this new year? Is it to see spiritual transformation for ourselves and others?
In other words, what will you “sit on” and what will you “NOT SIT DOWN” until it is done? God has placed something on your heart, my heart, and our hearts. Let’s not sit down until the work of God is done.
Kingston Tong
January 5th, 2025
Photo by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash