S82P3 – The beauty of the call: David

1 Sam. 17:17-19

Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread and run quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also take these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of the unit. See how your brothers are doing and bring back news of them. Now they are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”

To her, the goal was simple.  She wanted God to call her to something great and mighty.  Her childhood was filled with story after story of how the Lord made miracles happened and how He used people in that process.  She would listen to great evangelists preach to sold-out stadia and wished to be called to something that great.  While it was admirable for her to have a desire to do the big things for God, it came at quite a price.  Her focus was only on those big things.  When she was given opportunities to serve in small ways, to speak perhaps to a single soul instead of 1,000 souls, she simply said “no”.  She never considered that perhaps one of those little callings could lead to an opportunity to do something much greater.

When David’s father sent him on this mission the plan was simple.  He was to provide ancillary support, gather information, then go back home.  Yes, the area to which he would be going was full of war and danger, and that was a risk.  However, he was not being called to fight in that moment.  He was being called to something we might consider much less great.  The thing is, had David not taken advantage of the small calling, he would not have been present when Goliath posed his challenge.  An event which was integral to David’s spiritual maturity and the legacy of his people hinged on him accepting the small job without knowing that the big job awaited him on the other side.  That is why we cannot say “no” to the small callings.  We do not know where they will lead.

We all want to run the company, but no one wants to spend two decades in the trenches working their way up to the top.  God tells us in scripture that once we are faithful in the little things He will then trust us with the big things.  We can apply this to many areas of our lives, but one obvious area is in the work God calls us to do for him.  If I am not willing to be lowly, I cannot expect him to exalt me.  If I am not willing to do the little things with joy and excitement because God called me to them, then I certainly cannot expect him to reward me with the greater calling.  Father, thank You for the work You let us do for You, whether great or small, and give us the right attitude so as not to forsake even the smallest opportunity to serve.