I was thinking about the story of David this morning. He was tending sheep when The Lord sent the prophet Samuel to anoint him king of Israel. He was doing a menial task that was assigned to him because he was the youngest of his brothers. When the prophet told Jesse to bring his sons to a sacrifice, he didn’t even bother to invite David. As Samuel looked at Jessie’s sons, he looked at them, saw one and according to I Samuel 16:6 thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”
When all of Jessie’s sons had passed in front of Samuel, he was confused. God had rejected all of them. When Samuel asked Jesse if these were all his sons, Jesse said, “There’s still the youngest, but he’s out in the fields watching the sheep.” After he was anointed, David went back to tending sheep. He didn’t go to Jerusalem and proclaim himself king. Instead he waited for God’s timing for the call to be fulfilled.
To me, the waiting is the hardest part. How do you go back to tending sheep when you’re anointed to be king? How do you go back to sleeping on a hillside under the stars when you know there’s a palace waiting for you? David was able to trust God’s timing even though he knew where he was going in the future. He continued to be faithful to where God had called him for the present while waiting for the future calling to be fulfilled.
I think that has to be the hardest part. If God has called you to do something in the future, you don’t have the right to slack where He has you in the present. There are lessons to be learned still. There are responsibilities that must be tended to in the waiting. When David was told by his father to go to the battlefront to check on his brothers, he left his sheep with another shepherd. He didn’t neglect his present responsibilities for his future calling.
We all can learn from his example. You may have been called by God to be a missionary, preacher, evangelist, writer or something else. In the waiting time, you still have to take care of the responsibilities He’s given you. You have to continue be faithful in the “little” things. They may seem menial like watching sheep, but there is a purpose behind keeping you where you are until the right time arrives. David’s path to the throne was not an easy one. Just because God called you to something, it doesn’t mean the heavens will open, angels will sing and you’ll have a clear path to it. You may endure some difficult times getting there.
God has your steps ordered. It’s up to you to take those steps and to walk in the path that He has laid before you to get to where you’re going. Continue to trust in God’s plan even when it isn’t happening in the timing you thought it would. He’s still lining things up. He’s still preparing you. He hasn’t forgotten you or what He called you to. Do the things necessary to be ready when He says it’s time. Above all, be patient in the waiting.
