Get To Work

Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, "We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the LORD told you, 'You will be the shepherd of My people Israel. You will be Israel's leader.'" So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the LORD with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel. (2 Samuel 5:1-3 NLT)

I remember going through grade school, high school, and college.  I always had a sense that I wanted to "get on" with my life.  All this learning and preparation was fine, but I wanted to get out into the world and start doing whatever it was that I was going to do.

Once I entered the business world, I still had a sense that there was something more to my life and calling than the job I was doing.  I tried to fight off the feelings, but they would never subside.  I worked and received promotions.  They feeling didn't go away.  I changed companies and worked my way up.  The feeling didn't go away.  I changed jobs in the company.  The feeling didn't go away.  I always knew there was something more for me to be doing that somehow all this work was still "preparation" for something else.

I wonder if that was the way David felt.  He slayed Goliath when he was still a boy.  Even before that, he was selected by God and anointed by Samuel as the next king of Israel.  David has been waiting for a long time to fulfill his calling as king.  But everything he has encountered in life prepared him to take the next step in front of him.  Now, he is finally king.

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. (2 Samuel 5:4 NLT)

You can read the rest of the chapter on your own, but what you'll find is a man who is ready to do what is called to do.  He sets up a headquarters: the city of David.  He begins clearing out their enemies and setting up fortifications.  He gets married.  He has children.  More than anything, he makes sure he's walking together with the LORD.  It was clearly time to dig in...time to get to work.

I'm so grateful for the last 10+ years of my life.  It was time when I was able to transition from "preparation" to "digging in."  God let me be a part of starting a new church where before there was none.  He let me be a part of thousands of lives and hundreds of decisions for Christ.  I've gotten to live a part of my life where it didn't just feel like I was preparing for something, but I was doing something worthwhile - every moment - every day.

Looking back on the last ten years, though, I realize that "doing something" has also served as preparation as well.  God continues to use our past experiences to prepare us for the next step He has in store for us.  This is still true for me today.  It's time to dig in.  It's time to get to work.  It's time to more effectively "empower one more to walk together with God."  

Thank you, LORD, for the life you've given me.  

I'm so grateful for You, Your Mission, and that Your Plan includes. me.  

Thank you for Jesus - the one who lived his part of Your Plan perfectly. 

 It's through him that I pray.  Amen