We’ve all done it. Posted a photo or a tweet and then gone
back to check how many likes it’s gotten. More so than ever, we live in a world
where the opinion of others is crowding in to every moment of our day, leaving us feeling overlooked, unworthy, and unqualified.
Image courtesy of Unsplash
In the last year or so, I have felt utterly disqualified and lonely for a variety of reasons. How timely that in reading through the life of David, I found a great truth about God that can loose me from this emotional state.
David's life instructs us that man’s
opinion of us does not dictate our opportunities to be used by the hand of the Almighty
God.
David’s own father seemed to forget about him when the
prophet Samuel came calling to anoint one of his sons to be king.
1 Samuel
16:10-11 (NIV) tells us, “Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but
Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ So he asked Jesse, ‘Are
these all the sons you have?’ ‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered,
‘but he is tending sheep.' "
But he is tending sheep. In other words, he doesn’t have
what it takes. He can’t be the one. He’s the youngest. The overlooked. The
nearly forgotten. He doesn’t do anything of great value.
Can we all relate to whatever the dis-qualifier is? Too
young. Too old. Just a mom. Not as educated or trained or worthy or attractive
or smart. Whatever that plumb line is for being qualified, we have all had moments
when we feel we’ve fallen short.
In those moments, the enemy loves to whisper in our ear that we can’t do it and we never will. We will never measure up. We will never be the one. We are stuck where we are because we don’t have what it takes.
In those moments, the enemy loves to whisper in our ear that we can’t do it and we never will. We will never measure up. We will never be the one. We are stuck where we are because we don’t have what it takes.
The big lie is that God will not choose to use us for his
plans and purposes when those around us don't affirm our worth.
Yet, David’s story tells us that while David’s dad seemed to
overlook him, David’s Heavenly Father had a bigger plan.
We belong to the God who took a murderer on the run and led him back to Egypt to become the deliverer of God's people. He is the God who throws open
iron gates (Acts 12:10), who used a cowardly prophet to turn the wicked nation
of Nineveh back to himself, and who plucked a runt of a shepherd boy to
become the great king David whose throne shall reign forever.
When we consider our longing to be part of something bigger,
we tend to imagine that it mandates an impeccable resume or perfect path.
But David’s preparation for God’s future plans happened
while he spent his days on a lonely hillside, tending his flock. David’s path
to God’s purposes was a lonely, mundane, and disregarded way of life.
This tells us that in the hands of the Almighty God, every
bit of those tedious days of being overlooked was being using to prepare David
for kingdom purposes.
This is who God is. This is how God intends for us to
approach him.
We must remember that he is the God who does not need us or
anything we might bring to the table. Yet, in his grace and his mercy, he chooses
to include us anyway.
No matter where you serve or what you do or what people
think of you, surrender your days to the Lord and trust that he is using them
all for a much bigger picture. Quit looking around you for affirmation of your contributions.
It was not man’s approval or perfect pedigree or esteemed
education that prepared David for kingdom purposes. Rather, it was trusting the
greatness of God, and surrendering every task and job for the renown of the God
he loved.
No matter where you are or what your days are filled doing
and no matter what others think of you, please remember this: In the hands of
our Good Father, even our seasons of mundane and overlooked service are part of
an eternal plan.
Every day of feeding babies, filling sippy cups, and cleaning up cheerios is actually the kingdom work of investing in the next generation. Every day of your life can be used for eternal purposes when you choose to turn your eyes heavenward and seek to work heartily for God rather than for man (Colossians 3:23).
Every day of feeding babies, filling sippy cups, and cleaning up cheerios is actually the kingdom work of investing in the next generation. Every day of your life can be used for eternal purposes when you choose to turn your eyes heavenward and seek to work heartily for God rather than for man (Colossians 3:23).
God sees you, right where you are, even
if no one else does. And God intends to use the threads of your days and to
weave them into his eternal tapestry.
Be encouraged as you tend your flocks.
God hears you. God
answers.
And when we surrender our work to him, God is using every moment
toward his glorious kingdom.
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