Lay It on Me

W HEN G OD G ETS IN YOUR S HOES / 87

As a shepherd, he challenged bears and lions in private battles on the rugged hillsides of Bethlehem. David was a man after God's own heart. Just like his ancestor, Ruth, he was a simple person with a deep purpose. He faithfully tended his father's sheep. When Samuel was to anoint a king of Israel, he went by divine leading to Jesse's house. Seven of Jesse's sons were present, each hoping to be the chosen monarch. When Samuel the prophet passed, each boy inhaled and stuck out his chest. They had put on their best clothes and finest cologne. After God rejected all seven sons, Samuel asked, "Is there another boy?" Jesse said, "Yes but he's watching sheep." God takes shepherds and makes them kings! If they can care for a flock and defend sheep with their own lives, then they will defend the people of God with their lives, if necessary. David came out of the field with his staff in one hand, a slingshot in his hip pocket, and smelling like a cow pasture. Grass stains were on his backside and his fingernails were dirty from pulling up the poison grass that could make his sheep sick. Shocked and amazed, Jesse's seven sons stood back as Samuel anointed a teenage boy to be the next king of Israel! Though his great grandmother was a Moabite; though his family knew past sorrow and pain, God chose him to be the King of Israel. You see, not only was his family heritage tainted with sorrow, but it was also marked with divine appointment and divine assignments. When Ruth came to Bethlehem, God had