1 Samuel 18:5

So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

1 Samuel 18:5

Everybody loves a winner – but faithfulness is usually not popular.

David’s star was ascendant at this point: his defeat of the giant had turned around the entire situation, and Israel had won a resounding victory over the Philistines. As a result, everyone loved him, and it seemed that he could do no wrong. Saul promoted him; Jonathan paraded him; the people praised him and the army was pleased with his leadership. David’s career had suddenly taken off, and it appeared that nothing could hold him back. Heady stuff for the young shepherd boy from Bethlehem! His trust in God had resulted in both victory over Goliath and personal notoriety in the eyes of the world.

This is the vision that many have of a “successful ministry.” They are successful when their walk of faith gains not only God’s approval, but also that of the watching world. And even Christians may judge success on the basis of this kind of widespread acclaim. But David is not the poster boy for some kind of prosperity gospel. This moment of popularity is not the whole story for David. It would require some severe twisting of the Scriptures to make this into a simple “home town boy makes good” story. It would be nice to think that one act of faith – one instance of stepping out and trusting God – would have been enough to set David on the throne. Yet, this is not God’s way. True, a few of His choice servants have been successful, as the world defines it, but most were apparently total failures! The vast majority of God’s faithful ones have lived as unknown and unsung heroes of faith, daily following the Lord’s leading, scorned and ignored by the uncaring world. David acted in faith and it brought him a brief flurry of fame and popularity. But such things are notoriously fickle, so it is best not to set our heart on them. On rare occasions, godly faithfulness will gain the applause of the world, but far more often it will be misunderstood or even openly opposed. It was Christ Himself who warned us that since the world hated Him, it would also hate those who followed Him. (John 15:18-20)

How quickly David’s fortunes changed! Most of those who applauded him quickly turned against him and became his enemies. In this, as in so many other areas of his life, David foreshadows his greater Son, Jesus. Christ also enjoyed a brief moment of notoriety, until His teaching shone the light of God’s truth on the comfortable errors of His day. Not only that, but Jesus’ growing popularity with the crowds also caused the country’s leadership to turn against Him. So it was with David: the very source of his acclaim - his defeat of Goliath - became the source of bitter rancor, hatred and life-threatening situations for many years to come. And his popularity with the people turned Saul into a relentless enemy1.

Yet this descent into disrepute was also was God’s plan for David’s life. The pain and hardship had a tempering, sanctifying influence upon him. We know from the Biblical account that he had many painful lessons ahead of him – lessons that many of us are also called to learn. And while the story of the young man winning an impossible fight thrills us, it is the David who could write about anger and abandonment and yearning for God who we most identify with. The David of the Psalms is the one who is able to touch our hearts and lead us back to worship God in the midst of pain and loneliness and hardship. This David was not born on the battlefield or the king’s court; he was forged on the anvil of severe trial, as he learned to trust the promises of an incomprehensible God. (Is. 55:8) David was not immortalized by his worldly successes – his dogged faith in the midst of struggles and failures were what made him the man after God’s own heart.

God’s people often don’t understand this principle and still view worldly acclaim as the measure of success. Sadly, there are some within the church who are willing to do whatever it takes to “glorify God” by being personally successful. After all, everybody loves a winner – and just think about how much could be done for God through worldly success. Our problem is we don’t define success Biblically. In fact, if we are to think Biblically about this issue, we may need to change our vocabulary and replace the world “success” with “faithfulness.” God’s work in the world is accomplished through the faithfulness of millions of foolish, weak and base nobodies. (1 Cor. 1:26-29) ”That no man should boast before God.”

Don’t seek worldly acclaim – it’s a decidedly temporary phenomenon. And don’t expect the world to applaud you for your faithfulness. It may never even know your name. Many times, our acts of faith will only have an audience of One. But that audience is the only one that is important. Only God knows who your faithfulness will impact, but a life of faithfulness reflects His glory. May God’s grace enable us to remain faithful to His call on our life.