Some of you reading today are wrestling with silent confusion about what God is doing with you. Inside of you there is some filter that makes you hesitant to ask aloud about the incongruity of what you have presented to the Lord and what He has chosen to do with it. Some time ago there was a clear vision and expectation within you concerning how the story of your days would play out. The script you imagined was not all of ease and comfort – you rightly allowed some room for cloudy chapters because you are wise enough to understand that no follower of Jesus Christ is entitled to open calendars filled only with blossoms and sunbursts. Yet…the life you imagined at least had a little reason to it. Things made sense to you and though life’s dots were not all close together, they were certainly connectable. You wanted to please God and serve God and advance that little corner of the Kingdom which He entrusted to you. You were (and still are) willing to sacrifice and spend and be spent but these days you cannot quite fathom why He has responded to your willingness to sacrifice for Him with (dare we say it?) a plan of His own which makes little sense to you.
“David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord.” – 2 Sam 23:14-16 {ESV}
Three men discerned the thirst of their king and instantly committed to respond in a way that met his desire and brought pleasure to his royal soul. Valiant in spirit, they hazarded life and limb and retrieved from the very heart of enemy territory the precious water which David desired. Successful in obtaining the prize for him, the men safely traversed back to the hideout where David waited. We can look at those men and recognize that they truly honored their sovereign. David may not have been presently seated on his throne but they saw him as if a shimmering, golden crown rested on his anointed head. No risk was too great for his glory. There was not a question of if they would seek to fulfill his desire but only of how it would come to pass. Having succeeded in their venture, the moment came when they bowed before David and presented to him their precious gift.
And their king takes what they offered him and pours it to the ground, never tasting a drop of it as they had envisioned.
So I must now address my own attitude when my King does not respond to what I bring before Him as I had thought He would. Because the ways of Jesus are higher than my own and His thoughts more sublime than mine, it should be expected that He reserves the right to surprise me from time to time. Do not let it sound too cold but please remember that He is obligated to none of us. If He does not respond to nor reward me for what I bring Him with my life, He has done me no wrong. I serve Him because He is worthy, not because I think it should begin a series of you-scratch-my-back-and-I-will-scratch-Yours events. David was actually honoring those men by refusing to drink what they had captured -he esteemed what they had done as being too precious for his own consumption. Please note that David’s seemingly ungrateful response was an act of worship “to the Lord”. I think what amazes me most of this account is that there was no word of protest from the three men; we might reason that they were confused or even disappointed but our text does not disclose this at all. Instead we would do well to believe that their silence was a testimony to their trust in their king. I would like to believe that their great joy was in the adventure of pleasing him and that the possibility of reward/response from David was secondary. We need to live this way also. Living bravely. Living sacrificially. Living zealously with the desire to offer sacrificial water to whatever thirst our King might make known to us. If He chooses to return to us what we consider a reasonable response then we rejoice with Him. If His ways do not make any sense at all and our hearts give rise to confusion, hurt or fear because the King did not do what we had hoped…then may God grant that we rejoice with Him all the more for His unfathomable ways. Yes, it is true that King Jesus owes none of us a thing. His Highness is no debtor to His subjects. It is also true, however, and it is confirmed in Hebrews 6:10, that He is not unrighteous to forget our work and labor and love that we have shown unto His name. A delayed reward from Him is a better reward from Him. When He seems to indiscriminately pour out what you have offered Him, do not fret. He did not spill your sacrifice, He will not waste it. There is a vast difference between what He drinks, what He pours out and what you think He spilled. Spills are mistakes, accidents, errors. He knows nothing of those things except in how He atones for them when we commit them. You will one day comprehend the full pleasure your drink-offering brought Him in the very moment you offered it. Rest assured that He will drink it to the fullest in His time. So keep on risking it all.