One of the people that I LOVE studying in the Bible is David. He was the only man to be called a man after God’s own heart, even in the midst of all of his imperfections and mistakes. And because of that I always love to glean new lessons from his life whenever I can. This month, we’re going to explore David’s promotion from shepherd to king and what we can learn about taking the next big step in our lives - whatever that may be.

When the Bible first introduces David to us, we don’t know too much about him besides that he had handsome features, and was the youngest boy in the family. However, as we get deeper into his story and also study the book of Psalms, we can see that he was a very diligent shepherd even in times where he had no audience. He protected the sheep from predators, fed them and led them diligently until he was called to become the king. 

One of the greatest lessons from David’s life is that his diligence in smaller tasks builds the character and skill needed for the next one. And this is a theme that’s repeated in the Bible. 

In the parable of the talents, Jesus tells the tale of 3 servants who were each entrusted with their master’s wealth. Two of the servants worked hard to increase their lot - doubling it on average, where the third gave it back the same way he got it. The two servants who doubled their lot were promoted and praised, where the last one who just “did his job” was called wicked and cast out. Again, this is a parable that Jesus told the disciples while describing the kingdom of God. And it’s one that we should always keep in mind when it comes to our work for God and for others.

Next level offers and promotions come to those who are diligent with what they have - and diligence is not just doing the bare minimum. It's becoming a trustee, and doing what’s best with what you’ve been given as if it belongs to you. This is a Biblical principle that many corporations and organizations take on as well. On my first day at my first job, someone asked what it took to get promoted, and the answer that we got was that most people get promoted after doing promotion level work in their current role, and not from doing the bare minimum of what’s expected in the role. 

At Ignite, our pillars are Discover, Love, Lead, and today’s topic focuses on leadership. The very first step to preparing for leadership in your next level is to dominate your current level. Before you can lead others, you first have to lead yourself. How are you preparing in the role that you have today?

Scriptures: Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Samuel 17:34-36

Homework: How can I show leadership in my current role today?

One of the most interesting parts about David’s story is that he was anointed king by the prophet of that age, in front of his fathers and big brothers, then turned around and returned to the field to continue shepherding sheep. 

I don’t believe that he did this because he didn’t believe the Word of the Lord, but because he understood that in many cases, a prophecy or calling comes some time before the time to fulfill it. And he chose to work while he waited for further instruction or an opportunity which says a lot about his character. 

Even in today’s day, there is still a very real place for prophecy, and I believe that some of us reading this today have heard some major prophecies over our lives. And that’s amazing! However, it’s not a good enough reason to discard the work that we find before us each day. Prophecy is there to inform us of the mind of God and plans He has for our future - not a reason to ditch our post and wait for the new level to fall in our laps. 

I remember a few years ago when I first joined JHDC, I was approached to join the announcements ministry. I couldn’t see how that was aligned to my life at the time or how I could contribute much to the church that way so I declined……twice. But a while later, a minister prophesied that I would be a speaker and be on television in the future (which by the way I thought was WILD since that was nowhere in the plans or hopes that I had for myself). But I jotted it down in my notebook and kept it moving. A few months later, I was approached yet again about the announcements ministry (which at JHDC mimics a TV production). Just as I opened my mouth to decline again, I remembered the prophecy. And I had to ask myself, do I believe it? And if so, why not prepare for that? So I finally said yes (much to the ministry lead’s surprise since his requests usually ended in friendly arguments). Two years after that, I got not one, but two segments for my business on local DC television stations and the producers and anchors all could not get over how composed I was, and that I wasn’t nervous, but this was all because I was prepared. Working the gap got me comfortable with bright lights and public speaking while I waited instead of sitting in my living room and waiting for a big bad TV producer to find me there and give me an opportunity. 

Sometimes, there are huge lessons in the small nuances in the stories that we read in the Bible, and David’s return to the field after being anointed has been a huge lesson in my life. When you’re in the gap between a calling and fulfillment, the best thing that you can do is work while you wait, because in that work you’re continuing your training for the next step. 

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:17-40

Homework: List 3 ways that you can work the gap between where you are and where you want to be

Prayer: Father, today I thank you for every promise that you already have for my life. Please help me to focus on the things you want me to do today as I prepare for what you have for me tomorrow.

I remember when I was working in IT consulting and was entering my second year on a project in Maryland that I thought would last for at least three years. I walked in on what I thought was a regular Thursday, and saw a note on my desk from my manager. He wanted to see me asap. Naturally, I started wondering what went wrong and what I broke this time. Hey, I’m just being honest. 

But when I got to his office I got very different news. Earlier in the week, I saw on the news that the company had just taken on a very high profile project. And now I was being told that I needed to move to that project the following Monday (i.e. in two business days) because of a specific skillset that I learned in the past few months on the project and that they needed on the transition team. 

Now, I was honored but also VERY confused. I had a lot of work to do on my current project. Like, A LOT of work. There were even many tasks that I took care of by myself on that project. How could I be moved to another project without a plan to take care of what I was doing before? My manager assured me that where I was going was more important and the team would figure it out. Just like that. I was honored, but also a bit surprised. I had less than three days to pack up my stuff and move to a new office and I didn’t even get a chance to meet my successor to transition them on all the work I was doing. Did this mean my current role was less important than I originally thought? Or was I really that disposable?

But in reading the Scriptures, I realized that this happens more often than not. 

Consider David. When we read 1 Samuel 16, we see the scenes leading up to when Samuel anoints David as king. All of David’s brothers were in the house doing other things, and David was in the back alone tending to the sheep which was the source of provision for his whole family. His father relied on him to manage those sheep which meant that when he was called to be king, he also had to leave this role behind.

Similarly, in Acts 6, we see the apostles appointing the first deacons of the church. The traits they looked for were men who had a good reputation both for being filled with the Spirit and wisdom. This of course means they had a reputation for being busy working elsewhere with great results, but were later called to leave that to become deacons.

In both of these cases, we see men being called to even more important work due to their diligence in their past roles. As you continue praying for new levels and for more in your life and work, it’s important to truly remain flexible to what the Holy Spirit is calling you to do. Growth requires that your identity remains in Christ, and in what He asks you to do - not in your position or your personal comfort. In some cases, we have to be willing to let go of what’s in our hands to grab hold of the next step.

Scriptures: 1 Samuel 16, Acts 6

Sometimes as Christians, we falsely think that we’re doing the world a favor by diminishing our gifts and our skills. Displaying false humility and pretending that you don’t know things in order to fit in is all too common in many Christian circles and is unfortunately the opposite of what the Bible asks us to do. 

In Matthew 5:16, Jesus Himself gives us the blueprint: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

David of course embodied this when he took on Goliath. Everyone else in Isreal, including the army men who were trained for war, were shaking in their boots as Goliath terrorized them and threatened their safety. David came along and realized that his prior experiences defeating bears and lions while protecting his father’s sheep would come in handy so he asked to be put in the ring.

And instead of celebrating this, his own brother mocked him and called him conceited for wanting to see what was going on. And I want to pause here - what do you do when people throw shade at you for shining your light? Do you press forward, or do you join them in doubting your transferable skills? I’ll ask it another way - who’s voice is louder in your head in those moments - the people around you or God?

Not too long after the shade from his brother, David also had to answer to king Saul who was concerned about a young boy like David going up against a giant like Goliath. David lets king Saul know that this isn’t his first rodeo, and about his experiences killing lions and bears while protecting his father’s sheep. Or as I would put it in the FIV (Feyisola International Version) “chill Saul, it’s handled.”

It’s amazing to see that David went ahead and killed Goliath, got promoted to royalty as the king’s daughter’s husband, and this chapter also happened to be the last time that the Bible mentioned David’s hating brother. And all of this happened just because David understood what his transferable skills were, so he couldn’t be shaken by everyone else’s doubts. 

As children of God, it’s important that we know our God, and also equally important that we allow Him to tell us who we are. He’s the one who made you. He alone knows what you’re capable of. And in order for you to reach your new level and to get everything that He has for you, it’s important that you know it too. 

Scripture: Matthew 5:16, 1 Samuel 17:17-40

Your Homework: Take some time this week and develop a new routine of quiet time to help you hear what God has to say about you each day.

As someone who grew up listening to NYC radio, I’ll share with you that Bad Boy Records’ “Mo Money, Mo Problems” was pretty much the anthem when I was growing up - but I never believed the premise of the song until recently. I couldn’t see how getting promotions, more money and all of the things that you asked for in life could bring new issues, but now as I get older and observe more about life and about the lives of those in the Bible - I can see it clearly. And I can see that in addition to praying for new levels, we have to pray for the character to deal with the things that come with those new levels too. 

In studying David, I see two new issues that came up with his promotion: King Saul’s jealousy, and David's unlimited access to women. 

First, King Saul’s jealousy was no fault of David’s. Saul was just mad that God’s Spirit didn’t rest on him anymore and because he could now see the person who would replace him. But even though it wasn’t David’s fault, he still had to deal and live with Saul’s antics for years. Saul’s rage grew to the point that he was chasing David through the desert trying to kill him. A whole king, who should be enjoying downtime from war in his castle with his daughter and son in law, was spending time and resources trying to kill David for no reason. But David had somehow developed the character and the right perspective in this and made sure to never fight back or harm Saul. Saul’s eventual death had nothing to do with David, and David even made sure that he had a respectful burial. This was a devil that David managed to beat.

On the other hand, David had a serious thing for women. The Bible doesn’t say a whole lot about David’s relationship with women back when he was a mere shepherd, but I would imagine that not too many people were checking for David back then when he was small, young, and busy with less than glamorous work with the sheep. But now that he was elevated to the status of a king, meaning that he could do whatever he wanted with whomever, David did just that. In addition to taking on multiple wives, he also had multiple concubines. In fact, in 1 Kings 1, all of Israel realized that King David was likely to die soon simply because they left him in a room with a virgin and he didn’t sleep with her. That’s the extent to which King David was working after hours in the palace. Now, while this issue didn’t kill him, or cost him his family, or the throne, it did introduce a lot of drama in his family line. His first child with Bathsheba died as a consequence of the adultery he committed with her. Then we see sexual immorality continue in his family line when his son Amnon rapes his half sister Tamar, eventually leading to a string of revenge murders all within David’s family. 1 John 2 talks about the “lust of the eyes,” which in David’s case was a very difficult thing to manage with increased access and power. 

As we pray for new levels, promotions and blessings, let’s also pray for the character to sustain those new levels and avoid creating new issues when we get there. 

Scripture: 1 Kings 1-11, 1 Samuel 19, 2 Samuel 13

Yesterday, we talked A LOT about challenges and imperfection and I wanted to end on a very important note after all of that. The fact of the matter is that we as humans are imperfect and we will remain so until we’re reunited with Christ. This by no means is a reason to give excuses for our sin or to continue to sin recklessly, but it’s important to see that God wants our progress so much more than our perfection. 

The Bible called David a man after God’s own heart before he was anointed king, but this didn’t change even after his many public mistakes and failures. David is mentioned way later in the New Testament in Hebrews chapter 11 which is fondly referred to as the Hall of Faith. 

In studying David’s life, we can see that he dealt with consequences for his actions, but that he always returned to God, worshipped God, and asked for forgiveness when he needed it. In turn, God never left him, and the prophet Samuel still continued to minister and send God’s messages to him. God still gave him the vision for His temple which David’s son eventually carried out. There are so many examples of God sticking with him even in imperfection.

And this also is the spirit that we have to have. In our journey to what’s next for us, and what God has for us, we will make mistakes. We’ll fall. We may sin. But what makes us righteous is that we keep on going. 

Proverbs 24:16 says “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”

The Bible also calls the devil the accuser of the brethren in Revelation - meaning that his whole job is to make you feel less than when you fail. But when the Spirit of God convicts us, it’s always with the purpose of correcting us so we can come back to right standing and a renewed relationship with God. 

There’s also another way to view the importance of progress over perfection. When Goliath came with his threats, David didn’t sit back and say I’m going to wait until after I get army training to step up - he instead used what he had, which was a slingshot and a stone. Similarly, in the Scriptures we can see how God used what people already had to help them progress. We see the boy who gave five loaves and two fish to the disciples. We see the woman who used the little oil she had to fill jars and eventually make money. We see Moses using his staff at God’s direction to perform miracles which set the Isrealites free. God is the one who provides increase to what we have, and He doesn’t require a perfectly polished version of what we have to do. He only requires that we regard it highly enough to let Him use it. From here on out, make that your goal to allow God to use what you have.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:17-40, Proverbs 24:16, Revelation 12:10

Prayer: Father I thank you for all that you have for me in the future and for all you’ve shown me about maximizing where I am today, pushing past my challenges and mistakes and pushing forward to my next level. Thank you for the lessons in the journey and for being my guide through it all. Amen