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Wasted Gifts? Wasted Time?

You know how you can read the Bible twice, ten times, a hundred times and yet there's still something you haven't noticed or thought about before? That's basically my relationship with 1 Samuel 16:12-23. This is where Samuel anoints David to be king (first he had to meet all David's other brothers because David was the youngest so he was out taking care of the sheep). After the family dinner with Samuel, the text shifts back to King Saul. Because King Saul had disobeyed God, God had removed His Spirit from Saul and sent an evil spirit to terrorize him. In order to sooth the king's suffering soul, Saul's servants go out looking for someone who can play music to make him feel better. 

There's a lot to think about in these short verses but the verse that struck me is verse 18. 

Then one of the young men said, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a might man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him. (NASB)

David had a lot going for him. He had skills, he was brave, the Covenant Keeping God of the Universe was with him, and--unknown to everyone else--he had just been crowned king. So what was David doing with his time? 

So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David who is with the flock" (1 Samuel 16:19 NASB)

Tending sheep. 

I wonder how David felt about that. He knew he was Israel's future king, that God had great things in store for him eventually, but in the mean time his father sent him back outside to deal with stubborn, stupid, wool-covered, bleating beasts. Did he feel discouraged? Did he feel like his gifts were being wasted? Did he feel like his time was being wasted when he should be learning how to be king? 


When we read the rest of David's story, it's actually crazy how much time he spends out in the elements with people who probably acted quite a bit like his sheep. He knew he was going to be king, he did not know that the current king would try to kill him, that his future son would also try to kill him, or that he would have to spend a lot of time outside running away from them. He did not know what his time with his sheep was preparing him for. It might have felt like wasted time, but it was actual a valuable time of preparation. 

However, maybe David didn't feel like his gifts and time were being wasted because the LORD was with him. After all, if the LORD is with you, isn't that enough? 

Maybe if someone saw your life they would say "she's is a talented baker, wise, intelligent, good with all different kinds of people, beautiful, and the LORD is with her," then we'd look for you only to find you're cleaning offices at night or marking tests results for online students or the secretary for a plumbing business. And maybe we'd cock our heads to the side and wonder why you aren't somewhere more significant, some place where your gifts shine. 

But when you think about it, our place doesn't matter nearly as much as Who is in our place with us. Isn't it better to be a talented baker cleaning offices with the LORD rather than a talented baker creating masterpiece cakes without the LORD? 

There's a lot of pressure in the world to find your purpose and in the church to use your gifts (which is okay to a degree) but maybe you're in a season where your gifts have to lay low for a bit and you just need to clean the toilet or read to your elderly parent or do a job that pays the bills, remember that God is with you. Maybe, like David, you're a skilled musician and God has sent you out to take care of sheep. Don't stress. Just do whatever you have to do with the LORD--He'll work out the rest. 




What I'm Reading Lately 

    • Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson and Howard Lyon. It is both hilarious and thought provoking and not stressful, a perfect February read. 
    • Lamentations: At His Feet Studies by Hope A. Blanton and Christine B. Gordon. I'm doing this one in the morning for personal study. I think it would be better as a group Bible study. 
    • You Who? Why You Matter and How to Deal With It by Rachel Jankovic. 

What I'm Enjoying Lately

    • I deleted my amazon prime membership so that I wouldn't watch so much TV, which has been a good thing. I've been working through a piano book, Sunday Solos, Preludes, Offertories & Postludes published by Hal & Leonard. I'm loving it. 
    • Being back on some kind of normal routine after the holidays. 
    • I cut my hair (I did not pay someone to do it, I cut it myself so when you see me, don't judge too much) and the five inches off has been a real gift. Previously it was knotty ALL THE TIME. 


"My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear/He owns me for His child, I can no longer fear/with confidence I now draw nigh, with confidence I now draw nigh/and "Father, Abba, Father!" cry." Charles Wesley 1742 (Arise, My Soul, Arise) 




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