HE’S PREPARING ME
By Nikita Harris
West End Bible Fellowship
Atlanta, GA
This teaching started with a discussion on New Year’s Eve about our individual ministries. Sometimes I have a hard time looking at my own life and seeing God working in me to do His will. It’s easy to get impatient looking at your own life; there are often to be long stretches of time where nothing important seems to be going on. When you see that, it’s easy to wonder whether God has any purpose for you at all.
One thing that helped me put this in perspective was reading records in the Bible where God worked in the lives of other people. What I found was that many times they didn’t understand what was going on in their lives, either. In spite of this, God’s word makes it clear that God was actively at work in their lives, whether they could see what He was doing or not. When God was finished, everything He had done made sense, and neither the time nor the life of the person He had been working with had been wasted.
I want to look at some people in whose lives God worked in scripture, and see what things looked like to them. By understanding how God worked in their lives, we can gain some insight into how God is at work in our own lives.
Joseph
Joseph, son of Jacob, was exalted by God to the second highest position in the nation of Egypt, subject only to Pharaoh; but that’s not the way things started out for him. Joseph went through years of suffering and heartbreak before God exalted him. There were times when it looked like God had deserted him; but the scriptures make it clear that God was with him, even in the darkest of his days, preparing him for the work God had prepared for him to do.
Joseph first started getting into trouble when his father, Jacob, made it clear to his brothers that Joseph was his favorite son. The situation got even worse when Joseph began to have dreams that seemed to speak about Joseph’s future exaltation.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
This is where Joseph received his calling from God. You would expect that his family, all of whom had been raised to fear God, would rejoice with him and support him in his calling. Instead, his brothers were envious of him, and hated him even more than they had before.
17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
Joseph’s dreams really came to pass, didn’t they? God had shown him that he was going to be exalted above the rest of his family; instead, Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers.
I can just imagine what must have been going through Joseph’s head about this time. "Maybe those dreams weren’t really from God after all. Maybe that was just the devil talking to me!"
1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
God reveals to us here that He was with Joseph in this situation. Because of this, we are alert to signs of God at work in Joseph’s predicament. But how do you think things looked to Joseph? Do you think he felt like the Lord was with him?
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
It probably took a while for Joseph to recognize what God was doing for him. At first, this was probably drowned out by the realization, "I’m still a slave! How do I get out of this chicken outfit?"
Then Potiphar’s wife entered the picture, with her roving eye.
7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:
18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
Joseph stood faithfully on God’s Word in the midst of persistent temptation. What did his integrity get him? An undeserved jail sentence!
21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
God reveals to us here that even at this, the lowest point in Joseph’s life, God was with him, and working in him. God caused Joseph to prosper even while he was rotting away in prison. And what impact was this prosperity having on Joseph? He was probably thinking, "I don’t know about this business of prospering God’s way…"
While Joseph was serving out his indefinite term, Pharaoh had two men close to him cast into prison. These were placed under Joseph’s care. While in prison, each of them had a dream that he could not understand. Joseph told them that his God could interpret their dreams, and when they had related to him what they had dreamed, he gave them God’s interpretation.
In accordance with the interpretations given by Joseph, one man was restored to his former position within three days, while the other was executed.
20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:
22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
No doubt Joseph was waiting excitedly for the chief butler to bring his case before Pharaoh, so that he could be released, and begin salvaging what he could from the ruins of his wasted life. But time passed, with no word from Pharaoh, and eventually Joseph realized that no help was coming from that quarter. Poor Joseph! He he’d almost had his freedom; now it was out of his reach again. From eager hope he went to painful despair; but he remained faithful to God, and he continued to serve faithfully in the wretched position he now seemed hopelessly locked into.
Then, two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams, and could find no one to interpret them for him. By some strange coincidence (!), the one man in the kingdom who knew that Joseph could interpret dreams happened to be in the room, serving Pharaoh in a position of trust.
9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker:
11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
12 And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
Joseph was summoned from prison, cleaned and dressed, and brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams.
25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
27 And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
28 This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
Once Joseph was brought before Pharaoh, it became clear that God had been using everything he had gone through before this to train him for the job God had ordained him to do. We can see at this point that God wasn’t wasting Joseph’s time all those years. Even though Joseph had no way of seeing God’s purpose during those long years of suffering and shame, God was working in his life nonetheless, using not only the good things, but the bad things as well, to prepare Joseph for what He wanted him to do.
There is a scene in the movie "The Karate Kid" that echoes this lesson. In the movie, a young boy goes to an oriental man and asks him to teach him karate. Instead, the man puts the boy to work doing chores around his house, giving him precise instructions as to how each job is to be done. The boy puts up with this as long as he can, scrubbing floors and painting fences, but eventually he gets tired of being exploited, and confronts the man, demanding to know when he can begin the karate lessons he was promised. The man throws a punch at him, shouting, "Left brush stroke!" The boy executes the brush stroke perfectly – and blocks the punch! During all the time he thought he was being taken advantage of, he was actually receiving the karate training he had begged so hard for!
Eventually, the famine Joseph had warned about came, and Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt with everyone else to buy food. The dream God had given Joseph so many years ago was finally coming to pass.
6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
This could have been payback time! But what did Joseph do? After testing his brothers to determine whether their hearts had changed, Joseph showed them mercy and love.
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
In hindsight, Joseph could see clearly that God had placed him in the hard situations he had endured, for His own purposes. Because of this, Joseph refused to harbor evil thoughts against his brothers, but instead invited them and his father’s family to join him in his prosperity in Egypt.
Moses
Moses was raised as a member of Pharaoh’s own household, but never forgot where he came from, or who his God was.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Things came to a head for Moses when he saw an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew. Moses came to the defense of the Hebrew, and in the process, he killed the Egyptian.
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
There was more to this incident than it first appears. Moses had it in his heart that God would deliver the Hebrews from bondage by means of him. When he struck the Egyptian, he was taking the first step toward fulfilling this great dream. He believed in his heart that his fellow Hebrews would understand what he was doing.
25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
Moses found out the very next day how little they understood what he was doing.
13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
At the ripe old age of forty, Moses was a has-been. His dream of delivering the Hebrews, which he believed God had put on his heart, was destroyed. His advantageous position in the upper echelons of the Egyptian court, which he had counted on as his decisive advantage, had been squandered away to no effect. His education and training and accomplishments in Egypt now counted for nothing.
Moses escaped to the land of Midian. There he settled down, married, and became a shepherd. For the next forty years he worked for his father-in-law, tending his sheep. Any dreams he had of doing anything great for God fizzled and died, buried under a mountain of monotonous reality. And then, at the end of forty years of supervising sheep, at a time when his life was as good as over, Moses heard from God.
7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Incredibly, after all this time, God still wanted Moses to deliver the Hebrews from bondage to the Egyptians. At the twilight of his life, God was giving Moses the chance to accomplish his dream; but this time, to do it God’s way.
Moses’ attitude, after forty years of cooling his heels in the wilderness, was a lot different than it had been before. His boundless confidence in himself, and in his own ability to accomplish what he set out to do, was long gone.
10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
This description of Moses by himself is a far cry from the description given by Stephen of Moses in Egypt.
22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
God had been waiting for Moses to learn humility and patience. God didn’t need for Moses to follow his own heart; He needed for Moses to follow His directions. And Moses needed forty years of training herding sheep in order to be able to herd two or three million Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land.
On the surface, it looked like forty years of Moses’ life had been wasted. In reality, Moses’ life was right on track with God’s plan.
David
While Joseph was given dreams that foreshadowed his future exaltation, and Moses had a God-given desire in his heart to deliver his people, David had the heady experience of being hand-picked by God to be the next king of Israel – while he was still in his teens.
1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.
3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.
7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.
10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.
11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
A momentous event like this would be enough to give many people a massive ego for life. But that’s not what happened to David.
14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
When Saul sought out David to play the harp for him, where did he find him? Plotting to take over the kingdom? Lording it over his own family? Practicing giving orders? No. He was doing the same thing he had been doing before: he was tending his family’s sheep.
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
Even after David was invited to become part of the royal court, what did he do when he got home? He continued to take care of his father’s sheep.
David’s anointing didn’t change the way his own family looked at him. When David’s father sent him to visit his three brothers who had been drafted into Saul’s army, Eliab, David’s oldest brother, took it upon himself to put his baby brother in his place.
28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
From Eliab we learn that David did not even have the distinction of watching over a large flock of sheep. He was only responsible for a few. Yet, in spite of the great promise given him by God, and in spite of the honor awarded him by the king, David continued to humbly serve his family where he was assigned: watching over "those few sheep in the wilderness."
1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.
Eventually, Saul decided that he needed David more than his family needed him, and refused to let him go back to watch over his father’s flock. In this way, God took him away from his job as a shepherd, and moved him on to the next stage in his training. David did not seek to exalt himself, or to make God’s promises for his life come true. Instead, he served humbly and faithfully where he already was, until God opened the door for him to move on.
David learned his first lessons in humility, in faithfulness and in service from his first training ground: the sheepfold.
Conclusion
From God’s Word we learn that God doesn’t always use the people He chooses "right out of the box." Instead, He takes the time to mold them, to teach them, to train them, to transform them, until they are ready for the work He has called them to do.
In John 15, Jesus describes a cleansing process that God sometimes takes people through.
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Verse 2 speaks about those branches that are in Christ. God does not remove those that are not bearing fruit from being in Christ. The word translated "taketh away" also has the meaning "lifts up." In gardening, this would be equivalent to staking a portion of a plant that is trailing on the ground, so that it can begin to bear fruit. God does not abandon you to failure if you are in Christ.
The latter part of the verse describes what happens when the Father sees that a branch is bearing fruit. Instead of being satisfied with the branch’s fruit as is, God instead gives that branch his special attention. He purges, or prunes, this branch. He brings out His divine shears and starts clipping away at that which does not belong on the branch if it is to bring forth the best possible fruit. In the end, the branch becomes all that it can be, not because it is an exceptionally capable or dedicated branch, but because of the individual care and attention given to it by the Gardener.
Having God cut away that which does not belong in your life can be a painful process. Jesus described another way for us to be pruned, or cleaned.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
When we submit ourselves in obedience to God’s Word on our own, we are "self-pruning." In short, we can either prune ourselves using the Word of God, or we can wait for God to break out the clippers.
Jesus went on to describe what we can do to assure that our time and our lives are not being wasted.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Our job is to walk in sustained fellowship with Christ. We do this by letting God’s Word dwell in us richly, by walking in consistent obedience to God’s Word, and by walking in love.
Those who God was preparing in the scriptures usually didn’t know what He was doing at the time. But they did know that God is faithful, and they put their trust in Him, and continued to obey Him, regardless of how unpromising the circumstances of their lives looked.
We, too, need to remain steadfast in our trust in God, and in our obedience to His Word. If we do, we will find that during those times when we thought that little or nothing was happening in our lives, God was faithfully preparing us for the work He called us to do.