Pastor Austen Ukachi
This is a continuation of our series on Divine Greatness. We shall find the following texts useful (Genesis 12:1-3; 2 Samuel 5:1-10; Psalms 71:21,22; 1 Chronicles 29:12; Exodus 1:7-11).We have several examples of people God made great beginning with Abraham, David, Joseph, Mordecai and Esther. David in his prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:12 reveals that it is in the hand of God to make a man great.
According to Shakespeare, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, other have greatness thrust on them. ” However, the scriptures reveal that the path to Divine Greatness is attained in several ways:
- Through God’s anointing. David was anointed thrice, and that strengthened him to conquer his adversaries (2 Samuel 5:1-10)
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Through diligence and hard-work. Isaac is an example of a man who achieved greatness through diligence. Through diligence he re-dug the wells which Abraham his father dug. The book of proverbs teaches us severally that the reward of diligence is greatness ( Proverbs 10:4; 12:24; 21:5; 22:29).
- Wisdom is necessary to attain greatness.
- Those who have Character, Competence and Capacity achieve greatness.
- Jesus in Matthew 18:1-5, taught that we become great through sacrifice and service.
For today, our focus is on David’s path to divine Greatness
David was a man of destiny, but two factors affected his attainment of greatness.
First, was the God factor; second, was the anointing of God on him. God wants to lift some of us to greatness, but we need his anointing and total commitment to him.
David was anointed thrice (1 Samuel 16:13: 2 Samuel 2:4; 5:3). His life shows us that Greatness is achieved when God is on the side of an individual (Deuteronomy 8:18).
Note that in 2 Samuel 5:4, David did not become the king over all of Israel until he was 37 years old, although he had been promised the kingdom many years earlier in 1 Samuel 16:13. He waited patiently to get to this point. The intervening years were very turbulent. That says a lot to us about the place of patience and progression to achieving greatness.
After he was anointed for the third time, he was able to capture the stronghold of Zion, much to the surprise of the Jebusites who teased him, saying that even the blind would repel his attack (2 Samuel 5:8). He called for volunteers to assist him to take the stronghold of Zion (1 Chronicles 11). Joab volunteered and earned the position of a captain. David’s greatness was not attained by sudden flight, but by conquest because he was a anointed by God.
The Psalmist in Psalms 71:21,22 prayed that God would increase his greatness on every side. Notice here that the Psalmist was already great, but prayed for increased greatness. We can also do the same today.
Lastly, let me remind us of what David said in 1 Chronicles 29:12: it is God who can make one great. The life of Abraham testifies to this fact.(Genesis12:1-3).
