Stewards of Opportunities

There is a TV show called “What would you do?” that acts out questionable situations and then secretly records people to see how they respond. The responses vary from not getting involved to outrage. It does however, make you wonder what you would do in a particular situation. 1 Samuel 16 tells the story of two men who were in one of those situations.

King Saul was again chasing after David and was camped nearby. David and one of his men Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him. The man sleeping on the ground in front of them had tried to kill them several times and there he was, fast asleep and unarmed.

What would you do in this situation? A biblical way of asking the same question could be, “How would you steward the opportunity?” God is always providing us with opportunities to choose His will over our own. He has also been known to add some unique methods to assist in bringing about those circumstances.

Abishai’s response was, “God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!” We might say something like, “Oh, an open door, it must be God’s will.” Once before David and his men were hiding in a cave and had the advantage over Saul, but David chose not to kill him then and his response was again, “No!” “Don’t kill him.”

David stood by his decision by matching it up with God’s word, “For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one?  Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!” Then David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul’s head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the Lord had put Saul’s men into a deep sleep.

You could call their situation a Divine opportunity to demonstrate restraint and goodwill, not vengeance towards one of the Lord’s anointed leaders. It was not David’s role to punish the servant of another, nor is it our place to do so. The Bible tells us in Romans 14:4, “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.”

What do you do in situations that seem like an open door? Do you pounce on the opportunity or do you set it before God’s word to see if it matches up as you pray about it?

David had learned from his life experiences that the Lord will judge and repay. The Lord will use His own means to provide be it a stone, a word of revelation or a deep sleep. The Lord again demonstrated His incredible capacity to provide exactly what was needed to rescue David and He will do the same for us.

David used Godly stewardship in the opportunity in which he was placed and because of his righteousness and faithfulness he could humbly expect and pray that the Lord would value his life and deliver him from all trouble. (1 Samuel 26:24)

Stewardship by definition means the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving. Our relationship and trust in Christ is definitely worth caring for and preserving. When we view our “open doors” with the understanding that God is giving us an opportunity to choose His will above our own, we are choosing to step out in faith and our relationship and trust with Him and in Him are strengthened.

My Prayer

Father, I’m so grateful for the new perspective that Your word has given me regarding stewarding opportunities. I want to measure them up to Your word and seek Your counsel before acting. Help me to show restraint and remember that its not my place to judge others, but to trust You. You will take care of all the details. Thank you Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Where does my help come from?

1 Samuel 26:23

“The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power, for you are the Lord’s anointed one.  Now may the Lord value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”