Training for a King

1 Samuel 16:13
“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”

In the verse above, Samuel anointed David to be king of Israel. Though David was anointed king, several things that had to happen in David’s life before he was ready to take the throne. The training God put David through is the same training every person needs to go through, especially future men of God before they are ready to take the throne and be king in the area God has called them to do. Let me show you several things David endured before that prepared him to be king.

First, David needed to get accustomed to the palace. It is interesting that after David was anointed king, he was called to play for Saul in the palace. I believe that God was preparing David to one day live in the palace. David needed to learn the responsibility of his future position before he ever held the position.

Every person needs to get passed the awe of what they are doing to realize the responsibility of what they are supposed to do. When David stepped into the palace as the king, he had already been in the palace; there was no learning curve. Every person needs to be placed in the real life circumstance of what they will do one day under the training eye of a leader before they should ever take the throne. A person stepping into the throne without ever having to carry out leadership responsibilities under the tutorship of a leader is bound to make many hurtful decisions.

Second, David had to thrive in the shadows before he was ready for the throne. David, though anointed king, still had to care for his father’s sheep. If a person is not willing to work in the shadows, they are not ready to sit in the light of the palace. No person is worthy of leadership who is not willing to sit in the shadows and do their work while others get the accolades.

Third, David had to learn to fight battles alone. Nobody but God helped David when he fought Goliath. A person is never ready to rule in their area of service well until they are ready to face the giants that come their way. Those giants are standing for truth when everyone else is afraid. Every person will be faced with times to stand for truth when the pressure is placed on them to ignore truth and allow the lies to continue. My friend, if a person can’t do right and stand for truth when nobody else does, they are not ready to sit on the throne. Every person will be tested with right at some point in their training, and how they respond to truth and lies, right and wrong, determines if they pass God’s test for the throne.

Fourth, David had to learn to endure personal attacks from those he loved and admired. David never imagined Saul turning on him, but he did. Every leader who does right will find themselves under attack from those they thought were friends. If a person can’t take the criticisms of their peers, they are not going to overcome the attacks of Satan. Ruling your area of God’s will is not easy; you will be attacked when you do the LORD’s work.

Christian, training for a king is a must for everyone to thrive in God’s will for their life. What you do in the training time determines whether you are ready for the throne. When God sees you pass each of these tests, He then knows you are ready to lead others.

Author: Allen Domelle