A Girl and Her Sheep

“And the LORD said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!’” 1 Samuel 16:12

The story of David being chosen by God as the future king has always been one of my favorite stories. But this morning I am blessed by this short sentence with a long-reaching reality. Samuel was instructed by God to go to the house of Jesse who had 8 sons. The Lord would reveal to Samuel the one son who He would choose to be the future king. One by one Jesse offered each son as a possibility, but God passed over all the young men. When asked if there were any other sons, Jesse stated that his youngest son was out in the field looking after the sheep. They sent for David and God revealed to Samuel that he was indeed the one to be anointed as the future king. Saul would continue to be king while David awaited his future promise and calling. Saul still wore his crown and ruled from a throne while David went back to the smelly pasture and ruled over sheep. The only thing that really changed that day when God anointed David was that God made a future promise with a timeline designation of ‘to-be-determined.’ David’s anointing and calling didn’t materialize for over 20 years, and God used adversity and many challenges to prepare him for the calling, growing him up spiritually and emotionally.

This story brings fresh encouragement to my heart this morning. It reminds me that when God makes a promise, He doesn’t consider our calendars. In the heavenlies David was a king, but in the world, he was still an overlooked son who hung out in a pasture with little status. I began thinking about the things tucked in my heart that God has promised me. In the heavenlies certain circumstances in my life look much different, they look completed…they look like answered prayers. And yet, things in my world just keep ticking with the same landscape. Maybe you have been promised things by God but like me the horizon never changes…the view stays the same. If God has promised you something, He has already fulfilled it in His timing…it is stamped completed in the recordings of Heaven…it is your history with God documented with His perfect track record.

Like David, after the promise we must return to our lives with patience and confidence that God will do what He says He will do. We must climb that hill to the pastures God has placed around us and tend to our own flock awaiting God’s beautiful timing. We must walk out our days with the full belief of Isaiah 46:10.

“Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass…” Isaiah 46:10