Grace for the Promise | April Blog

This month, we’re going to be looking at the life of King David and exploring key moments in his life. This isn’t a comprehensive study of his life by any means, rather, there are pieces of his journey through which God is speaking to us. In order to best understand this month’s prophetic blog, here’s a brief summary of David’s life before he became king. He was the youngest son in a large family and he worked as a shepherd. The prophet Samuel anointed him as king after King Saul disobeyed God. David got invited to play music for King Saul, he defeated the giant, Goliath, and saved Israel from the oppression of the Philistines, he married the king’s daughter, and then…Saul turned on him. David fled for his life for eight years before becoming king of Israel. It's specifically this period of life which we will spend time looking at and how God used different challenges as the training ground for him before he became king.

Vision for the Promise
"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Proverbs 29:11

Sometimes God gives His people a foreshadowing of where He’s taking them, before He brings them there. This is what He did with David. David was young when he was anointed king by Samuel; his life looked pretty ordinary. He was working as a shepherd in the fields and playing music to the sheep. Things started to change after Samuel showed up and anointed him as king. King Saul, who was suffering from tormenting spirits, heard of his musical gift and invited David to play for him. David became intimately acquainted with King Saul, his family, and the palace, even becoming best friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. This season of becoming familiar with the palace–his inheritance–would be pivotal for David later, when Saul turned on David, determined to kill him. In the eight years David would spend fleeing for his life, he’d need to remember what God had promised him.

Often, when God gives you vision for where you’re going, He’ll give you opportunities to experience it or get glimpses of where He’s taking you, as He did with David. David needed to know where God was taking him, in order to sustain the promise when things got really difficult.

If you have had glimpses of the promise and then it seems like everything went wrong, don’t lose heart. God gave you vision for a reason! Delay doesn’t mean “no,” it simply means God gave you vision to sustain you during the challenges. When God gives a promise, it’s often because you’ll need that promise in order to get there. If your vision has been hazy or if you felt you had a word from God and then everything looks the opposite, this is for you. Get in the Presence of God and ask Him for clarity. Hold onto what He shows you and don’t let go. Be obedient to what God is leading you to do. Walk through the doors He opens for you but persistently hold onto hope and hold onto God’s word. The story isn’t over yet!

Grace for the Training Ground
"He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support."
Psalm 18:16-18

God had strategically been training David for years and David had some victories under his belt. In fact, for a while, things were looking incredible. He slayed a lion and a bear who came to kill his sheep. Samuel anointed him as the next king of Israel. He played the harp for King Saul and became a close family friend. He then defeated Goliath and married into Saul’s family. He was literally the king’s son in law!

Everything was looking good.

And then.

As David became more renowned than King Saul, Saul got jealous and turned on David. David went from favored in the king’s house, marrying the king’s daughter to fleeing for his life. In fact, things got so bad for David that no one would associate with him except the lowest of the low. Scripture says, “And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were about four hundred men.” (1 Samuel 22:2)

Can you imagine? Going from everyone cheering for you and singing your praise, “Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands,” to fleeing for your life with no one willing to associate with you? David experienced a deep betrayal that caused him to become an outcast. And yet…this was another training ground. David had to learn how to lead the unleadable, the people nobody wanted. This messy, uncomfortable season was the training ground for leadership.

God didn’t abandon David just because everything was going wrong. In fact, the opposite was true. God had rejected Saul as king and chosen David, but Saul’s choices were making life incredibly difficult for David. In the middle of it all, God was with David. Likewise, just because your circumstances don’t look anything like God’s promise, don’t lose heart and don’t give up. Your messy, painful circumstances may just be the training ground for God’s promise. Right now, you may feel like you’re at the end of yourself–this is the perfect place for God to show up. You may feel abandoned by God, but you’re not! God is with you in the tumultuous moments, in the betrayal, and in the heartache. Remain faithful to God and keep going. He has not forgotten you!

The Anointing of Peace
“David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
1 Samuel 30:6

Things were not going well for David and his band of miscreants. They had fled Israel and taken refuge with the Philistines. Remember them? The sworn enemies of Israel? Yep, you remembered correctly--Goliath--the giant David killed was a Philistine. But because of Saul, David no longer had a home in Israel. Well, David and his men were gone for a few days meeting with the leaders of the Philistines. When they returned home, their wives had been kidnapped and all their belongings stolen. The men experienced such devastation, they threatened to kill David.

But Scripture says something interesting. It says, “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God,” (1 Samuel 30:6). He then set out with his men to take back what was stolen. They overtook their enemies and got back their families and belongings--nothing and no one was lost. God gave David an anointing of peace and strength to overtake the enemy and take back what was stolen.

Rock bottoms can be a catalyst for powerful breakthroughs. Where the enemy has stolen from you, God wants to redeem. God gave David shalom peace in the middle of chaos. Shalom has been described as a powerful sense of peace that disrupts chaos. Sometimes peace feels passive. But not in this case.

When I, Katelyn, was fifteen, I almost drowned in the ocean. I remember realizing I might die and experiencing an overwhelming sense of peace. As I was tossed and turned by the waves, I felt so clear headed and had a deep knowing that God was with me. In the middle of chaotic situations, God will often intervene with His peace that surpasses understanding. Right now, God is releasing an anointing of peace in situations where fear would normally take over. He is teaching His people how to operate in complete peace no matter what. But you must also choose in and strengthen yourself in the Lord. He is teaching you to recognize and become more familiar with peace than with fear. Invite His peace to come and overwhelm your heart, mind, and situation.

Let God Promote You
The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”
1 Samuel 24.4-6

When David was on the run for his life from Saul, there was a moment when Saul fell asleep in a cave and David had the chance to enact vengeance upon Saul. Saul had betrayed David and was making his life miserable, attempting to kill David. David knew that God had promised to make him king over Israel and he was given the opportunity to make that promise happen on his own terms. If David simply killed Saul, he could take over the kingdom and bring his promise about. In addition, he could enact vengeance on the king who had betrayed him.

And yet David refused. He knew that God had, at one time, anointed Saul as king. And he knew that promoting himself and taking over wasn’t the right way. So he chose the path of humility and honor even though it meant Saul would still want to kill him. David chose not to promote himself or enact vengeance, rather to trust God. In time, the Lord promoted David and took the kingdom out of Saul’s hands and gave it to David.

Likewise, we must look to the Lord to bring about His promises to us instead of attempting to make them happen in our own strength and ways. There will be opportunities to say “yes” to a counterfeit, to something that could work but in your spirit you know it’s not right. There will be opportunities to seize your promise at the cost of your integrity–don’t do it. Don’t compromise your values, your beliefs, or who you are for something that looks like the promise but isn’t quite it. You may have been wronged, betrayed, or overlooked. Don’t give into pettiness, manipulation, control, or vengeance when God is inviting you to trust Him. Sometimes, God puts us in positions where we could seize a counterfeit promise in order to test our character and equip us to hold the real thing. Do not give in. Do not settle.

Stay in the Presence of God and allow God to promote you in His timing. This doesn’t mean you are passive and don’t take action. Rather, that you posture your heart with humility and honor and you follow His leading. His Presence is the key to promotion. Therefore, keep seeking Him first. Keep your heart tender and soft before Him and allow Him to promote and bring about your promise you in His perfect timing.

At The Crowning Jewels, it's our desire and our mission to bring encouragement, to build others up, and to bring comfort to people’s lives (1 Corinthians 14.3). Each month, our founder, Anne Jackson, and our main writer, Katelyn Alexander ask the Lord what He’s doing in the coming month and for any words of encouragement He might have for His people. We believe that prophetic words need to be encouraging and edifying. Moreover, with a corporate prophetic word, not all words are applicable to all people. If our words bless you, please take hold of them and apply them in your own life. If it’s not specific to you, please pass it on to someone else who might be blessed.

As always, the prophetic is a free gift from heaven and will always be something we freely share. As a prophetic business, it’s our mission to bring encouragement and edification to people through the free gift of prophecy, with our product being jewelry.

We at The Crowning Jewels believe in the absolute, transformational power of declarations. We know that truth comes by hearing (Romans 10.17), and speaking truth is an active way for us to renew our minds (Romans 12.2). We invite you to partner with what God is doing and say these declarations for the remainder of the month. We would love to hear what God does! Please email us your testimony at hello@thecrowningjewels.com.

Declarations

I trust in God’s vision for my life even amidst delays
I celebrate failures–as failure is part of my training ground!
I experience the God of peace amidst chaos and uncertainty
I pursue God’s Presence above everything.
In the right time, God will promote me.

Each month we design limited edition pieces of jewelry, only available for that month, handmade with words and charms that reflect the monthly prophetic word. If this word resonates with you and you'd like to wear a reminder of its truths, click the pieces below to shop!