This may not be the exact question my wife asked me but these words are still circulating through my mind three days later. We were in the middle of a very intense conversation and in a moment of brutal honesty a few questions rang out. “What more do you want? What will make you happy? The Lord has called you to do some very specific things and you keep looking for more.” I am so thankful my wife is willing to stand toe to toe with me and ask me the difficult questions.
In this season of life, the Lord has impressed on me three very specific tasks to focus on: running, writing, and serving. I am sure I am not the only one built like this, but my eyes are always open and looking for opportunities to improve, challenge myself, help someone, and 100 other things, but what often occurs is my focus is removed from the task at hand…I am given a mission to accomplish and I waste valuable time not focusing on the mission. I believe the Holy Spirit led my wife to ask me those very pointed questions, to inflict a wound that only He could cause and bring healing. My prayer for as long as I can remember is, “Father show me how I can serve you and I will do whatever you ask of me.” But, there was a blind spot which was preventing me from fully experiencing His joy in accomplishing the things he puts in front of me and most likely preventing me from experiencing all that He has for me and my family.
As I have been processing this lesson, I keep coming back to David before he was King David. David’s father sent him to the lines of war between Israel and the Philistines to take some bread to his brothers. As David arrived he heard the Philistine, Goliath, shout his usual taunts to the army of Israel (all this is found in 1 Samuel 17). David started asking questions around the camp about what the reward would be for the man who killed Goliath. I am sure the military men were trying to understand why in the heck there was this little boy who was not old enough, nor big enough to serve in the military asking these questions. As David stood in front of King Saul he boldly stated, “Don’t worry about this Philistine. I’ll go fight him!” Saul looked at David and said, “Do not be ridiculous, you are but a little pipsqueak! What makes you think you can fight and kill this GIANT OF A MAN who could squash you with his little pinky?” (1 Samuel 17:33, Scott’s Literal Translation)
What happens next is nothing but David hearing God’s call and giving the task at hand his laser focused attention. Saul tried his hardest to disuade him from proceeding but was unsuccessful. He even tried to give David the kings armor and sword to fight the giant. This whole story amazes me because I would have jumped on the Internet and researched how to kill a giant, watched a few YouTube video’s on the subject, read a couple books, maybe a biography on someone who had slayed a giant before, and then taken a couple classes on how to slay and kill giants. By the time I was ready, I would have risked my calling passing me by. David on the other hand threw the armor off, and put his faith in his Heavenly Father. He trusted the Lord had prepared him for such a day as this and he would walk in victory fully knowing the Lord was going before him.
David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
1 Samuel 17:45-47
David’s faith and confidence is amazing to me. The Lord gave him a task, he did not allow ANY distractions, even ignored the advice of King Saul, and went to work bringing destruction to the giant that was standing in defiance of Israel. He marched out, spoke the Word of the Lord to the Giant telling him exactly what he would do and never thought twice or questioned his decision or stumbled…nothing more and nothing less. Flung a stone and cut the head off the giant!!! DONE!
Our calling, in most cases, will be easier than that one event in King David’s life BUT it is NO LESS IMPORTANT. In God’s bigger story, my mission and calling…your mission and calling, is just as significant. We all were created for such a day as this, to accomplish the calling the Lord has on our lives. No distractions, no tangents, no extra this or extra that, just what is critical to our mission!!!
Stop and think about all the stuff we do, all the time fillers, all the non-important things we throw into our day and ask yourself…Does this serve my calling? Does it serve the Lord? Does it serve my family well? If the answer is no, then throw it out and move on. It is time to answer the call of the Lord because we were all made for such a day as this!
Love and blessings,
Scott
Journey Like a Bos 