1 Samuel 21: All for God's Glory

"The priest replied, 'The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod.  If you want it to take for yourself, then take it, for there isn't another one here.'  'There's none like it!' David said.  'Give it to me.'"

1 Samuel 21:9

David, on the run from King Saul, flees to Nob and asks the priest there for food.  He also asks the priest for a weapon, and it happens seemingly by coincidence that the sword of Goliath is there.  Ultimately, he walks out of the temple with all the food he needs to sustain himself, and carrying a weapon with which to protect himself.

I hear people use bible scenes like this one to fuel the "God gives us everything we need" argument, but there are a few points which I think are important to observe when having that discussion:

1. David had to ask for specific items.  This means, first and foremost, that he had to know what to ask for.  It also means that he had to have the humility to ask for it.
2. David lied to the priest, giving him a phony story about why he needed the food and the weapon.  If we operate on the premise that deception is the tool of the devil (which most Christians do), then we are contradicting ourselves by saying that God is giving David these items.  This leads to an argument that I'm sure to cover more in the book of Job (whenever I get there) - the argument that the devil is a tool who is fully under the command and control of the Lord, a tool that He uses to bring glory to Himself.  Only under this argument, can we accept the premise that God is providing for David's needs here.
3. The term "need" is thrown around far too loosely by most people.  "I need to pay my bills."  "I need to wash my car."  "I need to go to sleep."  The definition of the word need is never one-sided.  Even saying, "I need food and water," is only true if you assume the end of the statement, "in order to live."  The 'need' to wash a car is only a need because of the circumstances which require that action (i.e. having a clean car requires cleaning the car, just like living requires the consumption of food and water).  I have empirical evidence that God does NOT provide for every person's every need.  Here it is - I need the day to be longer so that I can accomplish all the things I need to do...

So here's the argument I'd like to make with this post.  God does NOT provide for all of our needs (not even all of the physical life-or-death needs, or else nobody would ever die).  So which needs WILL he provide for consistently?  Any need which is a requisite for His glory.  His glory required that David survive that day in his flight from Saul, which he couldn't have done without sustenance and a weapon (he had no way of providing his own food, and one of Saul's men was after him).

Question of the Day:

What is God doing in your life to bring glory to Himself?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, only You know what my role is in bringing glory to Your Name.  Move in my life in whatever way You deem necessary in order to bring glory to Yourself.  Amen.