On David

I heard a very good message last night in youth service about David.
It was from Psalm 78:70-72, which reads, "He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands."
That is just like the coolest thing, and the pastor emphasized this to us, God CHOSE David. 

The creator of the whole world chose a boy, just a lowly boy. Why did God choose him?

The reason why God was able to use David was because David was in His will, even though it wasn't anything spectacular. He was doing what God meant him to be doing, and because of that God blessed him and gave him glory.

Right now, generally God's will for me is to be in school, submitting to my parents' choices for me, because they know better than I do. And if I'm doing that and seeking God with my whole heart, I know that when the time comes for me to move on to doing things on my own, everything will be alright because I'll be in God's will for me.

David may not have wanted to be a shepherd and he may not have liked always being passed over because he was younger, but he knew that God expected him to obey his father. Because he submitted to God through his father, he was blessed beyond belief. He submitted in the small things, so God knew he could trust him to lead Israel. 

And ultimately his humble childhood was for the best. The training David received and the wisdom he gained and the closeness to God that he achieved while watching the sheep prepared him to be king, and more important than that, to be called a man after God's own heart. 

That's the title we all should seek to claim.