Missing links!

That’s what COVID-19 fighters are concerned about. Each day we get the number of infected people reported to us.

Of greater concern is the numbers that seem unlinked to known cases or clusters. These unlinked cases reflect what might well be community spread, which is worrying. So a lot of contract tracing is set in motion to hopefully establish links where they exist.

Likewise in the Bible, sometimes there seems to be these random “unlinked” cases. People suddenly appear out of nowhere under messy circumstances.

But this is where God shows us His “contact tracing”: He doesn’t just establish links, He also demonstrates His sovereignty.

The account of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 is one such story.

Many of us reading this story would focus on the battle. And rightly so! It’s exciting and action-filled! It tells the wonderful story of an underdog who defeats a “Thanos” of a bully (Take a look at 1 Samuel 17:4-7 – very Thanos-like, no?)

David, God’s anointed, delivers Israel from dreaded defeat and servitude to her enemies – David went for Goliath’s head!

This was a victory like our Saviour Jesus’, who defeated our dreaded enemy, “Thanatos” or death.

And the story could have end just there, with David’s victory.

But it doesn’t. Take a look at the last verse that ends this story, 1 Samuel 17:58 which reads: “And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Why end this powerful victory with such an anti-climax? Why bring up David’s family here?

Actually, it’s an incredible way to end this story because God was establishing a link! He was demonstrating His “contact tracing” as it were. He was linking this story to His backstory! And what is that?

God brings about His will through what is seemingly messy and random.

Take a look at Ruth 4:17, one of the closing verses of the book just before 1st Samuel: “And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.’ They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” 

Ruth is one of those seemingly random, messy stories thrown into the Biblical mix.

A foreign, childless widow (how low in society can one go?) who remarries an Israelite man! So messy, so random! How can there ever be any link to God?

But God was present in the mess and the randomness – Ruth’s story became the backstory to Israel’s victory! It is God’s “link” to the deliverance of His nation through His anointed.

1 Samuel 17 tells us that deliverance comes from God’s anointed. But it’s also more than that. It’s about a God who brings about His will through what is seemingly messy and random.

The COVID-19 pandemic right now certainly does feel messy and random! Stuck in our homes, many feel like their lives are meaningless and being wasted.

But in this situation, God is inviting us to be His link. We do so by choosing to walk daily with Him in the midst of such mess and randomness.

When we make that choice, He can turn what seems messy into His missing link! Will we be His link today?

If your answer is yes, then pray this with me:

Dear Heavenly Father, I confess my fears, anxieties, uncertainties and concerns in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I fear that I may catch the bug. I fear I may pass it on to my loved ones. I fear the hospitalisation and all the other things that might happen.

I surrender now these fears to You. I am reminded from Your Word this day that there are no accidents. Those who choose to walk with You, even when things seem messy and random, do not walk alone, for you are Present. And Your Presence makes all the difference! You are Almighty GOD, the LORD of Hosts (1 Samuel 17:45) who has delivered us from our ultimate enemy, death!

Lift me to live my life well for Jesus. Empower me by Your Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to see that as long as I choose to walk with You, nothing is ever wasted or meaningless. I do not know what tomorrow holds. But right now, I chose to walk this day with my King. I will be your link. Use me for your glory.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.