Have you ever gotten a burst of energy and enthusiasm and it spurred you into action? Maybe it was just to clean the house or write some poetry or read a book that you've wanted to read for a while. What if you could live with that kind of energy all the time? It seems like David did, so let's examine this energy to see where it came from and how he sustained it.
VICTORY AFTER VICTORY
Last week, we saw that the Lord interrupted David's plans to build God a house and instead promised to build David a house by establishing an everlasting kingdom for his descendants. Once David received that promise, he went out and started to do the work of establishing the house God had promised him:
In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines. David also defeated the Moabites. . . . So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute. Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses. When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went (2 Samuel 8:1-6, emphasis added).
Notice the words emphasized in that passage: defeated, subdued, took, hamstrung, struck down, captured. Those are not passive words; they represent action when David took the offensive to engage his neighboring enemies. And the good news is the final statement above: The Lord gave David victory. We see no divine strategies or secret sauce for success. David went out with great enthusiasm, God went with him, and they made history together.
ENERGEO
Paul had the same kind of energy and drive David had. He wrote to the Ephesians to say, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20, emphasis added). The word for work is energoumenen, and you'll notice that the first part of the word is the word energo, from which we derive our word energy. Paul had a divine energy working in him and producing results that were immeasurably more than he or we could ask or imagine.
Do you have divine energy working in you? You may think that kind of energy is only for special people like David or Paul, but you would be mistaken if you think like that. Earlier in his letter, Paul wrote,
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 1:18-20, NASB, emphasis added).
The word translated working in verse 19 is the Greek word energeian, with the root word once again being energy. Paul was praying that you would have this divine energy working in you, which is the same energy that raised Christ from the dead! This energy can often manifest in what we call zeal, and we know the disciples saw that zeal for God's house consuming Jesus (see John 2:17 and Psalm 69:9). They saw it in His actions like we see it in David's. Do you have that kind of energy working in your life?
You will only have it when you're engaged in your purpose or creativity God has assigned you. Otherwise, you'll show flashes or have bursts of zeal but it will be misdirected toward sports, hobbies, relationships, or politics. I suppose some would even be zealous to preserve their status quo, which is called complacency. Perhaps it's safe to say that zeal is an important part of your makeup but it will be wasted if you don't have the proper focus.
I encourage you to examine where your energy is being invested and make the necessary changes to ensure it's being used for the intention that God gave it to you, and that's to do His will with all your heart and strength. Have a blessed week.
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