The Middle Moments

1 Samuel 17:17–18 (ESV) And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

1 Samuel 17 could be studied for years. It empowers God's people who will regularly face the obstacles of institutionalized religious form represented by Saul's leadership AND the enemy of our souls represented by Goliath.

In David, we have both a picture of Jesus and an inspiration to greater faith. Here in verse 17, David challenges the assumption that great moments are the result of great ambition. For his arrival on the field of battle that day was not because Saul needed his soothing songs and in no way did Saul expect David's sling ability to have any impact. No, David's arrival was because his three older brothers needed bread and cheese to sustain them as they hid from Goliath with the rest of the forlorn army.

When David's father asked, David obeyed simply, efficiently, and reverently.

1 Samuel 17:20 (ESV) And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.

Mind you, this is AFTER David was anointed Saul's successor. This was AFTER David was elevated in the sight of his brothers by the prophet Samuel. This was also AFTER David had taken a position in the King's service to play the harp skillfully. AND this was AFTER David's personal victories over the lion and bear.

If there is one thing a young man will struggle with other than immorality it would be pride. That is, the young man who is suddenly thrust into great notoriety because of his early successes would be tempted toward big-headed hubris more than anything else. But David is the anti-type of all this. He is humble - going back and forth between his father's sheep and the king's service. He is in his aged father's house willing to serve his older "non-anointed" brothers the food THEY need. And lest anyone think his ambitions were all about the next level of greatness on the field of battle, we would do well to note he left his father's sheep in someone's care before he left. He fully expected to return.

David shows us that great opportunities are often on the other side of a great willingness to serve where no one sees. I call them the middle moments. The moments you don't hear about in speeches to graduating seniors or business leaders. The moments your flesh insists are beneath you. The moments most people fervently avoid.

But it is those middle moments of obedience and humility that lead to the greatest opportunities. Those who take advantage of them will stand out.

This should not surprise Christians. Jesus was constantly telling us the same thing.
Matthew 20:26 (ESV) It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant

Now we either take Jesus as One who knows a thing or two about handling greatness or we ignore Him and follow the crowd into self-seeking vainglory. But great care has been taken to make sure we see these details of David's character so we can learn to follow. The middle moments will not make headlines but they have a way of sifting the pretenders from the true followers of Christ.

Lord help us never to miss a middle moment.