After playing football in junior high and high school for 6 years, I can tell you, I learned numerous valuable lessons. Lessons on physical training, lessons on mental stamina, and lessons on competition. But by far the most valuable thing I learned on the field will probably surprise you…losing. When you’ve given it your all during the week’s practices. When you’ve prepared mentally, physically and emotionally for the battle. When you’ve played your heart out on Friday night. When you’ve done all these things and still get whipped soundly by the other team, how do you react? You see, learning to lose with grace and humility is one of the most valuable things we can learn in this life. I mean, come on, we will all lose at stuff, why not learn to lose with excellence? An excellent loser…there’s an oxymoron for you.
But there’s one huge problem with the above message, especially in our world today. People don’t like to lose. At all. Ever. Never ever. Did I say ever? In fact, just the opposite. For the most part, I think people are really bad losers. You see, being a good loser is not just about managing yourself, your emotions, and your psychological processing. It’s about the winner. Being a good loser is really about accepting and celebrating the true victor. Someone has to win and if it’s not you, are you able to truly celebrate the victor? The way we lose is a true sign of our character and integrity and folks, if you can’t lose with grace and celebrate another’s victory, life is going to be a long hard road.
Today we begin one of the oddest parts of scripture. The hunter and the hunted. The pursued and the pursuer. One running and one chasing. And since one has a heart after the Lord’s and the other a "sometimes heart" for the Lord, you’d think these passages wouldn’t exist. You’d think that these two men could somehow shake hands in the Lord and move on beyond this feud, but not so. I’m speaking of Saul’s antagonistic, relentless, murderous pursuit of David.
The chapter opens with clear yet vicious words from Saul.
“Then Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David.” 1 Samuel 19:1a
So why the reasoning for Saul’s murderous hatred and bitter jealousy towards David? Well, David was just too good. You could almost call him God’s golden boy. Whatever he touched turned to gold. When he went into battle, he routed the enemy thoroughly and consistently. When he came home, he was a war hero and greatly loved and cheered by the people. He truly loved all those he met, and people, hear me on this…if you want to be loved, first love others.
Even Saul’s own family seemed to love David more than himself. Saul’s daughter fell madly in love with David and married him. Saul’s own son, Jonathan’s heart was “knit together” with David’s and as a result they had a lifelong covenant to care for each other and each other’s families. David was a man after God’s own heart, and he was actually living that way. And as a result, he was winning. And Saul just could not celebrate the victory of another.
You see, Saul’s’ heart was a heart of the world. Saul’s heart loved Saul. A lot. Saul wanted to win at everything, all the time. Saul never expected to lose, ever. Saul was wrapped up in himself, and as a result, he made a very small package. In one instance, when David came back from a battle, victorious, a simple song celebrating another sent Saul into a jealous, murderous rage.
“When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistines, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. 1 Sam 18:6-9
The very next day after this episode, Saul tried to kill David himself. Saul saw David as his main competition and his thought was to simply remove that competition. Saul’s desire was to erase David from the pages of scripture and ensure his kingship for the duration. There was only one problem. It was not God’s plan. But in a strange twist of this drama, God did not simply strike down Saul or even limit Saul's murderous reach. Instead, God used it as a tool to train David into the man that God needed.
Saul would pursue David with in a murderous rage for almost 20 years. He chased David from town to town, through mountain ranges and at one point David is reduced to hiding in caves, genuinely fearing for his very life. David is questioning and wondering. Why God would allow this to happen? He is crying out to God, wondering why he was anointed 15 years ago by Samuel to be king, only to now be hiding in a desolate, cold, lonely cave, looking over his shoulder every minute. But folks, God uses all trials and tribulations in the life of His children to glorify Himself. And it is in this period that David wrote what we today know as most of the Psalms. Out of the darkest of caves, came words of pure light.
Today, how do you see the victory of another? Do you merely tolerate it? Do you ignore it? Do you greatly resist the victories of other's because you think they should have been yours fair and square? Or can you honestly and genuinely celebrate another’s victory? To do the latter, you will need the humility and the love of the Lord. And when you walk in love and humility, you will see that sometimes the biggest victory lies within the biggest defeat.
Love others. Cheer them on. Enjoy their victories alongside them. Hoist them up on your shoulders and genuinely love what the Lord is doing through their lives. For it is in these moments, celebrating others, that you will be truly victorious.
If you are reading this, you are being prayed for.
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