Unlikely Training Ground

Bible Passage: “Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses^[a] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, ⁴⁷ and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.” (1 Samuel 17: 46-47 CSB)

David was serving as a Shepherd boy when prophet Samuel anointed him. He was about 15 years old back then. His family did not even consider him to be “king material” when prophet Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king. God knew that Samuel might look at external appearance of the sons and decide based on that, so God instructed Samuel to anoint the one He shows Samuel- because God sees the heart and not what man sees.

David was a shepherd boy- a profession despised during his times and seen as “unclean”. Perhaps a reason why his own father did not consider it important to call him when prophet Samuel arrived at their house to anoint the next king.

In fact when God rejected all the sons Jesse presented, when Samuel asks Jesse if these were all the sons he had, Jesse replies in 1 Samuel 16:11, ““There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.”

There were 2 reasons why, according to Jesse, David would be disqualified: he was the youngest and he was a shepherd. These were not qualities of a future leader, Jesse reasoned.

But God saw differently. It was in such a humble place that God was training David, unknown to his family. God saw David’s humble heart and that is all that God needed to qualify David for the role God was training David for. As soon as David was anointed, he returned to tending the sheep. But he was a different man now: he had the anointing of the king. He was certainly totally transformed from within, for the Holy Spirit was upon him. He saw things through God’s eyes.

We see a glimpse of his faith on the battlefield, when Goliath steps out defying the Israel army. Right there David reveals to us what his profession as a shepherd exposed him to:

1 Samuel 17:34-37 says this:

 David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur,^[g] strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

God was training David for battle in the most unlikely places: while shepherding sheep! And God showed him through those experiences that it was not David’s prowess that helped him overpower the lions and bears but it was God who rescued him.

David was confident that: God would rescue him and the army of Israel from Goliath. That Goliath was fighting against ARMIES of God- not just the physical army that was seen but SPIRITUAL armies that were UNSEEN were fighting with David against the physical enemy. David had probably experienced these armies fighting on his behalf against the lions and bears that came after his sheep.

My friend, what lowly, common place, despised, unseen role are you currently playing now? God sees your desire to serve Him and your humble servant heart. He will lift you up in due course of time. But stay surrendered under His mighty arms in that season.

God lifted Joseph from being sold as a despised slave by his own family to becoming the second most influential man in the world. God lifted David from being a shepherd to being in the lineage of Christ.

God can and will use even the most unlikely, despised, humbling places to equip us for His purposes. He sees your heart and He will fight for you and exalt you in due course of time.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, even though I do not understand how long and why I am in this very humbling situation, I know and declare as Job did that You can do ALL things and that NO plan of Yours can be thwarted. Teach me to embrace this humbling role, to rely on You as You equip me and to stay surrendered under Your mighty Hands. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Here is a song by Lauren Daigle called “You Say”. May it minister to you today: