Hanging Out with the Sheep and Loving it!

1 Samuel 17:12-19, 32-37

David... a man used of God? In hindsight we would all answer a resounding yes! If we were discussing King David, we would still all answer yes, but what about David the shepherd boy?

While all his brother's were off fighting a war to defend God's chosen nation/people against the enemy, he found himself playing his harp to a bunch of sheep in the wilderness. I wonder how many times he questioned God, "Am I really the one that Prophet Samuel anointed to be King? If so, why am I here with the sheep?" Maybe David didn't ever question God, but I know I would have if I was in his shoes.

A heart that is passionately in love with Jesus longs to do impossible things in the name of Christ. We long to have great purpose, to magnify the name of Christ, and most often we long for that NOW! We desire to follow His will for our life and have a hard time accepting it when it looks like our greatest purpose is "watching the sheep." Maybe your sheep field is being a stay at home mom to children resisting potty training, testing authority, and asking 1.5 trillion questions every day. Maybe your sheep field is a lonely house putting the pieces back together after an unforeseen tragedy. Maybe your sheep field is an office filled with people who you feel could care less about integrity, or you for that matter. However, there is one common denominator... it is YOUR sheep field. As much as you might not want to admit it, you may just be exactly where God wants you to be.

Which leads us to ask... well what now? How could I possibly honor God and bring Him glory where I am at? Let's see what David did. David did his job to the utmost of his ability. When lions and bears threatened his flock, he fought back with a vengeance. He obviously was spending his long days in the field with the Lord, because he was intimately acquainted with His God. He gave the Lord all the glory for his courage and deliverance.

David didn't realize it, but God was using the sheep field and the trials that came along with it, in order to prepare him for that moment that he needed to be ready to glorify God and save God's people. If he was not obedient in the field, not seeking the Father's face while with the sheep, he probably would never have had the courage or ability to kill Goliath in such a God honoring and creative way.

God doesn't look at our circumstances in the same way we do. He sees more than the past five minutes. He knows the next 50 years. His timetable is perfect. We must choose to honor him where we are today.

Are you discouraged? Do you feel like the Lord anointed you for a task, and instead of fulfilling it you are out to pasture? Don't give up. As David himself wrote:

"Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, and the justice of your cause like the noon day sun... Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him... Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing... Those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land... The Lord knows the days of the blameless and their inheritance forever... The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand." (Psalm 37)