Preparation

Now the LORD said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be My king." (1 Samuel 16:1 NLT)

I must admit that waiting is not one of my strengths.  I realize that "patience" is a fruit of God's Spirit and that my desires to have His Plans worked out today, now, this moment...are bad.  I've run into this struggle so many times over the years.  I wanted to be married, not wait until I graduated from college.  I wanted to have a good job, not wait until I completed the necessary education.  I wanted to understand His Word, not work through the process of learning good interpretive skills.  I want people to walk with Him, not patiently teach His Truth in love in the hopes that perhaps they will understand...someday.  I really like answers now.

So you can see why the story of David really stretches me every time I read it.  David is anointed by Samuel to be king of all Israel.  He's only a child.  He's anointed, but he doesn't have the job yet.  Saul has the job right now.  Saul will still have the job for another 40 years!  David will serve as a shepherd.  He will play music for the King.  He will fight and conquer Goliath, but not rule as King yet.  He will fight in the army, hide from Saul, be outcast to Israel's enemies, face Saul multiple times - escaping death each time, serve as king of Judah after Saul's death, and wait patiently again until the Northern Tribes of Israel finally allow him to serve as King.  David had a lot of patience - lots more than me.

I had a friend/acquaintance back in High School who's family owned a fairly large company in Cincinnati.  Everyone knew his family name.  People would pick on him because he was going to be "set for life" on the financial front because of this business.  He handled the needling with great poise for a high school student, but he knew that the joking wasn't really true.  Yeah, he had the last name.  Yes, he was going into the family business.  But his family had a policy about such things:  you start at the bottom and work your way up.  He was going to have to do every manual, menial, hard-working job in their company.  His parents believed that you cannot lead if you do not understand.  By the time he would lead, he would understand the business and the people working in it.

David went through a similar preparation.  Many of the things he went through while growing up actually served to prepare him for leadership.  He learned how to fight battles.  He learned strategies in war.  He learned how to stay alive when someone very powerful was trying to kill him.  He learned how to work with people who society would not consider the "best of the best."  He learned how to be a man of integrity even when his closest comrades tempted him to do otherwise.  The process he went through was his preparation to be King.

Over the years, I've learned to be more patient when God doesn't give answers right away.  I don't think I like waiting any more than I did before.  I've just learned how important it is that I am faithful to what I face today.  Today's work is preparation for tomorrow, but it also determines the kind of man I am today.