God Uses Leftovers
David was in great danger; for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. – 1 Samuel 30:6-7
In verse 7 of today’s key passage, David asked the priest Abiathar to bring him the ephod. The ephod, you will discover, was a sacred garment worn by priests in prayer and in worship. The reason this stands out for me is that oftentimes when we encounter loss, our attention is on what’s been taken from us. But here God says the first step to recovering what the enemy has taken is to take inventory not of what you lost, but of that which you have left.
David had to learn that what he had left was more valuable than what he had lost. Which reminds me that God does miracles with leftovers. In scripture, we learn that God actually does his best work with leftovers. For instance, in 2 Kings, there was a woman whose husband dies, and all she had was a jar of oil left in her house, but God used it anyway. In the Book of Job, Job lost everything, but he doesn’t let his losses steal his praise when he said, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed is the name of the Lord.” In the Book of Luke, the good Samaritan saw a man that had been beaten and robbed on the Jericho road, and the Bible says he was left “half dead.” But the Samaritan helped him because if he was left half dead, that also meant, he was half alive.
Just like these people allowed God to use the leftovers for his glory, David did the same. He asked the Lord to use what he had left to turn his life around. Yes, he had lost a lot, but the ephod symbolized that he still had his faith.
So I just want to encourage you if you have experienced loss. If you devote more time and energy on what you have left, you’re going to find yourself seeing possibilities in the middle of tragedy. David lost a lot, but his faith was still intact, his hope was still there, and the enemy couldn’t take that away. At the end of the day, there are some things the devil can’t touch. He can take your car, he can repossess your home, he can destroy your relationship, but if you still have faith in God, that is enough to get you through whatever losses you face along the way.
In verse 7 of today’s key passage, David asked the priest Abiathar to bring him the ephod. The ephod, you will discover, was a sacred garment worn by priests in prayer and in worship. The reason this stands out for me is that oftentimes when we encounter loss, our attention is on what’s been taken from us. But here God says the first step to recovering what the enemy has taken is to take inventory not of what you lost, but of that which you have left.
David had to learn that what he had left was more valuable than what he had lost. Which reminds me that God does miracles with leftovers. In scripture, we learn that God actually does his best work with leftovers. For instance, in 2 Kings, there was a woman whose husband dies, and all she had was a jar of oil left in her house, but God used it anyway. In the Book of Job, Job lost everything, but he doesn’t let his losses steal his praise when he said, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed is the name of the Lord.” In the Book of Luke, the good Samaritan saw a man that had been beaten and robbed on the Jericho road, and the Bible says he was left “half dead.” But the Samaritan helped him because if he was left half dead, that also meant, he was half alive.
Just like these people allowed God to use the leftovers for his glory, David did the same. He asked the Lord to use what he had left to turn his life around. Yes, he had lost a lot, but the ephod symbolized that he still had his faith.
So I just want to encourage you if you have experienced loss. If you devote more time and energy on what you have left, you’re going to find yourself seeing possibilities in the middle of tragedy. David lost a lot, but his faith was still intact, his hope was still there, and the enemy couldn’t take that away. At the end of the day, there are some things the devil can’t touch. He can take your car, he can repossess your home, he can destroy your relationship, but if you still have faith in God, that is enough to get you through whatever losses you face along the way.
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