Can You Do Me a Favor?
1 Chronicles 11:17
"And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!"
When reading through the list of David's mighty men, we often miss why these men were in the list. We see the great feats that these men accomplished, but we don't see the greatest feats of these men. Inside this list are some of the greatest truths that you can apply to your life, and the verse above is no exception.
What was it that caused three men to become the mightiest of David's captains? Was it their great individual feats? No, it was not! It was not that one of these men slew three hundred men all by himself that caused him to become the mightiest. Yes, this was a great feat, but this is not what caused him to become one of the three mightiest. It was not that one of these men was with David when he defended a parcel of ground full of barley that caused him to become the mightiest. Certainly a lot can be said about people who stand with their leader when they make positional stands for the old-time religion.
So, what was it that caused these men to become the mightiest of David's thirty captains? What caused them to become the mightiest is that they risked their lives to fulfill a desire that David verbally expressed. David simply thought out loud about how he wanted a drink of the water from the well where he grew up in Bethlehem. These three men heard their friend and leader express his desire, and they risked their lives to be sure to fulfill that desire. They understood that fulfilling the request of a friend is one of the greatest things they could ever do for David.
One of the things I feel we have lost in Christianity is the selfless action of doing whatever you can to fulfill a friend's desire. Certainly, obeying leadership is of utter importance, but doing something for someone because they express a desire is what defines great friendship.
If you are going to become one who fulfills the desires of friends, then you are going to have to start living a selfless life. Let me make this clear, life is not about what others can do for you, but life is about what you can do for others. When you fulfill the desires of people, you will be amazed of the great satisfaction that comes from that.
Furthermore, you are going to have to start listening to people. You will never fulfill the desires of people if you don't listen to them when they talk. Many times people simply express desires inside of a conversation. It may be that they talk about one of their favorite foods. It could be that they simply talk about wishing they could have something. It could be that they see something that they mention they would like to have someday. You will never know these things if you don't listen to them. You must listen to people as they talk if you want to become a person who fulfills desires.
You will win people's hearts over to you if you will learn to help people realize their desires. I know that you can't always give people what they want, but you can do everything in your power to help them get something they desire. I challenge you today to listen to those around you and see if they subtly mention something they desire. Then, take that desire and make it your command to give to them what they want. You will be surprised how the LORD will supply the wherewithal to meet these desires if you will simply be willing to be the delivery boy for God.