Ever felt stuck? Ever dreamed of being something that was vastly different than your 9-5 job? Ever had dreams of being a rockstar but what paid the bills was flipping burgers at a fast food joint?I have.
My mom has reminded me on multiple occasions that when you begin to feel discouraged, look back on times when God has come through; so in my moments of feeling like my dreams are vastly different than my every day I have been reading through the stories of David and Joseph.
we know David as the great king, as the man who defeated Goliath, as the Psalmist, as the man after God's own heart; but David began in the most humble of beginnings, as a shepherd.
Sheep are seen as "stupid" animals who are mindless and need a shepherd in order to survive, this was David's humble job day in and day out. One thing I find precious is that even when doing a job that felt mundane, David honed his giftings and skills (whether he realized it or not, he was being prepared for the rest of his destiny). David wrote songs out in the field and he probably had no idea that the worshiper in him was being developed into a worship leader (in all aspects of his life). The strength he needed to defeat Goliath was developed when he protected the sheep from wild beasts with his bare hands.
what is God developing in you now?
In the book, Sun Stand Still, Steven Furtick talks about there being a need in the world that we have the giftings and abilities to meet; we just have to train our eyes to see them.
"God's invitation for you to step out in audacious faith isn't going to fall from the sky
and hit you in the head. You've got to train your eyes to look for it.
The impossible becomes possible for you only as you carefully
observe and faithfully obey the direction of the Holy Spirit"
David met physical needs, by bringing food to his brothers on the frontlines of battle. He didn't get discouraged his oldest brother questioned his presence on the battlelines, "why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those sheep in the desert" (1 samuel 17:28)
And when the need around David became clear, he realized that the Lord had already prepared him for this moment within the "mundane" activity of watching sheep,
"Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine"
(1 samuel 17:34-37)
don't lose heart, this time you are in is not useless or without purpose.
look around you, what needs can you meet at this very moment with the abilities you have?
don't fret, the Lord is preparing you with skills now for a purpose later.
and don't worry, I'm reminding my own self of this.
Posts
