Serving our Generation

I am going to spend some time on a verse, more specifically a particular phrase.

³⁶ “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; Acts 13:36 (NKJV)

The phrase I want to focus on is, ‘served his own generation.’ Each of us live in a time period where we can offer service. There is an old expression, ‘The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity.’ David did just that. In looking at his life and history we know he came from obscurity to become king and he ruled the nation with wisdom. While he had his failings, as all of us do, he has this testimony in scripture, that he was a man after God’s own heart.

¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV)

²² And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22 (NKJV)

The interesting part is that Samuel told Saul that the Lord was replacing him with a man after His own heart while not knowing who he was to anoint as the new king. If we read the account in 1 Samuel 16 we discover that Samuel was not at that point looking the way the Lord was looking as he thought some of the other brothers would be the right one. The Lord had to tell him specifically to anoint David (1 Samuel 16:12). What we know from this is that David was described as a man after God’s own heart while still a shepherd and a youth.

Scripture does not include an explanation or commentary on what the phrase means. However, it is something we can deduce from his life. I believe a primary aspect was his heart for worship and the Lord’s presence and that it was from his heart of worship that he received the wisdom to be the warrior and administrator that built and extended the kingdom of Israel. This is because his first major act once he became king of the whole nation and captured Jerusalem was to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and set up continual worship before Yahweh’s presence (2 Samuel 6, 1 Chronicles 16). Whether by revelation, intuition or lifelong practice, David recognized the importance of worship.            

If we want to walk out our calling and serve our generation, I think the wisest investment we can make is to emulate David by becoming a passionate worshipper and in that pursuit listening for His wisdom as to our next steps.