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    While Saul was still ruling Israel, God sent Samuel to anoint a new king. Samuel’s journey led him to the small town of Bethlehem. He had not come to find the tallest, nor the strongest, nor the oldest of the boys of Bethlehem. He came to find God’s choice. Two memorable things happened that day:

    God chose a young shepherd boy named David to be the next king, and Samuel learned that God doesn’t judge the outward appearance but the heart.

[The LORD] chose David to be his servant and took him from the sheep pens. He brought him from tending the sheep so he could lead the flock, the people of Jacob, his own people, the people of Israel. And David led them with an innocent heart and guided them with skillful hands. PSALM 78:70-72

    God was pleased with David’s sensitive, submissive heart, and as God had done with Saul, he had Samuel anoint David as the future king of Israel. With a few drops of oil, David found himself marked as God’s anointed —his empowered representative on earth. Then, without fanfare, David returned to his father’s sheep, because it would be years before he actually assumed the throne. So while Saul continued to wear the royal robes, David roamed the hills around Bethlehem, seeking to know the King of kings. David’s shepherding years provided the solitude — quiet times with God — necessary for him to write songs of praise and petition, to grow more expressive about his God’s greatness, and to be humbled by his own humanity.

    Ironically the battle for sanity inside Saul’s mind could only be quieted by the soothing harp of none other than young David. Unaware that David had been anointed the next king, Saul invited him to live in the palace and be part of the king’s court.

Reflection: While Saul was growing more self-absorbed and distant from God, David was growing closer to the heart of the Shepherd God of Israel. As David’s sheep pastured in meadows and rested by still waters, his faith was shaped. His aloneness provided the hours of uninterrupted silence needed to hear the voice of God. These times with God provided confidence in God’s presence and an unshakable foundation for his calling as king.

    Our world fights solitude. We are more prone to amuse ourselves than to muse on the questions deep within us — and even less so to muse about the wonder, the majesty, and the adventure of life lived close to the Creator of the universe. Solitude and silence aren’t options, but necessities, for closeness to the heart of God.