David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

1 chronicles 13:1-4

David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. 3 Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.” 4 The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.

Today’s title is “The True Brave-Hearted”

We love all the soldiers who serve the countries in various ways. We love and respect all the more the elite soldiers who are famed for their outstanding bravery. They do often carry out highly risky missions on land and in the sea and sky. It takes great skills as well as courage. To be able to accomplish the tasks, they go through the most strenuous training with great endurance. Do you know any of such brave people? Are you perhaps one of those elite forces? What kind of people do you think they are? I ran into an article from a famous weekly magazine a long time ago that tried to answer these questions. The reporter asked, “How could they be so brave and daring? Who are these people?”. The article first clarified what they are not. Though they go through the toughest training and carry out the most demanding missions, they never look tough. It also says that if you run into anyone one who brags about the adventurous bravado, it is most likely that they are not the real elite forces. They are probably “wanna-be's”. The real elite forces never brag about what they did r do. They don’t even talk about what they do. What surprised me most in the article was that most real elite forces are very quiet and highly religious. If I may paraphrase it, most of the elite forces are serious Christians who worship and pray regularly. That’s the secret of their calmness even in the most challenging and hostile environment. I see a good example of such godliness and daring bravery in the person of David. David was a great warrior who dared to confront the most gigantic foes. He galloped through the bloody battlefield without any fear. How could he do that? He did inquire of God. He asked for God’s presence on every battlefield he fought. We can see such a God-fearing but man-daring mind of David in today’s passage. David now became enthroned as a king in Israel. He is now rebuilding the kingdom of Israel that was utterly shattered in the reign of his predecessor King Saul. Many things need to be done. But David knew what needs to be done most urgently. Israel needed to inquire of God. David clearly knew what the reason for the utter failure of his predecessor Saul was. He said that he did not inquire of God. David told his decision to bring the ark of God back to the whole assembly of Israel. They eventually bring it back. That set the foundation of the blessed reign of David and Solomon. Our daily life is a spiritual battlefield where we have to face many challenges and enemies. How daringly and courageously do live through it? We learned how we can from David. We know now how we can have a true brave heart. Inquire of God humbly like David, day in and day out. You can become more than a conqueror. Amen!