The Message Boy.
It’s a whole lifetime ago now but when I got my first ever taste of work it was as a message boy. Not one of the sort that you did a couple of hours after school, or a simple Saturday job. Mine was working for an electrical company with fulltime Monday to Friday hours. I was required to do the shop runs, help with deliveries and do minor jobs in the workshop.
I suppose it was a baptism of fire, of sorts, coming straight out of school hours into a full time working environment. And although it was a long time ago now I still have strong memories of working for that company. I ended up being offered an opportunity to serve my apprenticeship as an electrician once I left school.
I do remember one or two occasions during my time there that I was given a certain amount of leeway to try and sort out some minor problems on my own. I thrived on this. I can’t remember what the tasks where exactly now but I do remember the feeling of pride at the workmen approving of me sorting out some problems before they even got the chance to address them. The problem was that when that problem arose next time it became my job to sort it.
Like I said, it was all a long time ago now. But some recent bible studies brought some of the memories back to me. I was reading of the account of David’s fight with Goliath in 1st Samuel Ch17. You see, that fight didn’t belong to David. It belonged to the army of Saul. But they were all gathered in a stalemate on the hillsides of the Valley of Elah with the Israelites to the north of the valley and the armies of the Philistines less than a half mile away across the valley to the south.
David was the youngest of eight son’s, and he was meant to have been a few miles away in the fields looking after his father’s sheep. But his father had asked him to go and take some supplies of food to Saul’s army on the hillside. His three eldest brothers were serving with Saul’s army.
When he got there he saw the armies were lined up and Goliath was in the middle of the valley with his armour bearer shouting and taunting across the divide. According to the bible the taunting had been going on twice a day for 40 days. Nearly 6 weeks.…
1st Samuel Ch17 (16) And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
You can read the account of the events in the rest of the chapter, but the final account is well known to every person who has ever heard the story of David and Goliath – The little errand boy who slew the giant in one move.
Another account of a little boy being used happened with Jesus and His disciples. The account is popularly known as “The Feeding Of The Five Thousand”. All four gospels give an acount of this event but only one Gospel mentions the little boy.
John Ch6 (8) One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, (9) "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish……..”
Jesus got his disciples to get the people to sit down in groups of 50 and after He had prayed over the food he was able to feed all of the people. The Bible adds some facts to this story by stating that there was 5000 men plus women and children (Matthew Ch14 v21) and that there were 12 baskets of leftovers cleared up aferwards. (John Ch6 v13). Once again, a little lad was able to help provide an answer to a dilemma.
Young teenage children were given a lot more responsibilities in those days than they do nowadays. They were put to work at the simple tasks from the earliest possible years and they were taught lifeskills that today’s children of a similar age do not possess.
And yet, just because they were young and didn’t yet have much in they way of bodily strength or adult maturity, they were still able to accomplish things for God. It has often been quoted that God has chosen the weaker things in this life to confound the wise…
1st Corinthains Ch1 (27) But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; (28) and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen…..
Example after example is given throughout scripture of young boys and girls being able to help out in God’s work in some way. Joseph. Samuel. Daniel. Esther.
So, when you sit and ponder over the things of God and spend your time in your thoughts with Him, thank Him for the times when He was with you and you didn’t even know it. Thank Him for the times when you were muddling through your life and God was bringing people and events into your life that mould you and bring you closer to Him.
And watch over the children in our churches and in our care also. Some of them are our future pastors, leaders, missionaries and church workers. And God’s hand is on them already.
I've had questions for tomorrow.
There've been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation God gave me blessed consolation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.
Through it all, through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus. I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all, through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.
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