The preparation years

But David said to Saul,’ … your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’ I Samuel 17: 36 - 37

The preparation time can so often be trying, tedious, difficult yet it is so essential, whether it be preparing food, training for a sports event, revising for an exam or being faithful to our calling when nothing appears to be happening.

It is worth it when the beautiful meal or cake comes out of the oven, the race or match won, the exam is passed or when a suddenly breakthrough comes to our life. In many ways the benefits of the preparation time can be obvious but in our spiritual walk, the preparation years can seem not just fruitless but also pointless.

David must have experienced this when he was suddenly called from the fields to be anointed king by Samuel and then – he goes back to the sheep. What a disappointment!  Joseph had these amazing dreams of future leadership and he ends up in a pit and worse still in prison. 

Where was being king out with the sheep? Where was great leadership serving in Potiphar’s house then being falsely accused and thrown into prison? Both of these times though were vital for what was to come.

It was whilst David was out with the sheep that he developed and deepened his love and trust in the Lord. I think we may not have had some of those wonderful psalms if David had not spent years with the sheep. Leading sheep and leading people have some great similarities and learning to kill the lion and the bear to protect the sheep meant David could face and kill Goliath with Godly confidence when the time came.

Joseph learned all about servant leadership in Potiphar’s house and then in prison. He learned to deal with being maligned, being forgotten yet being faithful and when the call came, he was ready. He went from prison to throne room to being second to Pharaoh in all Egypt in one day. Without the preparation years, he just would not have been able to do it.

Even after he won great fame killing Goliath, David still had years of being faithful to God and trusting him to make him king at the proper time. He resisted the temptation to take the throne and because of his years with the sheep, he was not a king like Saul – one like all the other nations had – he was a king after God’s own heart.

It can be so hard to spend days or even years beavering away being faithful, wondering if we are making any difference, wondering if God has forgotten us. Sometimes we may not even realise these are the preparation years. One day though the call will come and all those things that we had placed little importance on will suddenly make sense. All the things we have learned and experienced, both the good and the bad, will become the platform for the future.

Let’s make the most of the preparation time trusting that God is investing in us all that will be necessary for the next step so when the door opens, we will find we have everything we need to fulfil God’s calling on our lives.  

Needing God's wisdom

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. Matthew 7: 24

I was struck today by the thought that without God it is so hard to make good life decisions. When we do not ask for the wisdom of God to guide us, it is so easy to make really poor choices. So often you hear of people who for apparently very good reasons moved house, country, job and then they are miserably unhappy and wish they had never moved.

Someone we know whose eye sight is failing decided recently to move into a home for partially sighted people. Their decision was made in consultation with both his wife who has moved with him and their son. For excellent reasons they decided to go but they are already deeply regretting the move and want to go back to where they were.

With God’s help we can make what Steve Backlund calls rock (not sand) decisions by which he means we make choices that will enable our lives to be built upon Christ our rock and not the sinking sands of our own ideas and plans.

Making good choices for the big decisions of life comes from two ways. Firstly we need to do things God’s way concerning the key areas of life. We will build on the rock when we purpose to live in honesty, maintain sexual purity, walk in generosity, serve others and put God first in our lives. This “rock living” will protect us from much heartache and will leave an inheritance of blessing for our descendants.

Secondly we need to learn to hear the voice of God for our day to day living. God wants to train us to do his will in the small decisions of life, being kind to those we meet, showing generosity, having time for people. As we learn to hear and respond to his voice in the smaller things of life, it is so much easier to hear him for the bigger decisions.

I am so thankful to have God to help my family and I make good decisions but the best news though is that even when we make ‘sand’ decisions which we may deeply regret, God can redeem and turn around even the most hopeless of circumstances.

A few years ago, another friend of ours moved house and job away from family and friends believing it was God’s will for their lives. It was not a good move and the expected promotion never materialised. The man’s wife was unhappy away from the family and the area they used to live. Some years later, the wife rather sadly said to me that they could never go back to which I replied, ‘Why not?’

That little conversation triggered a chain of events which led to them returning to the former area and their family. When we saw them last they were so much happier and as Addison Bevere says, ‘God is an expert at redeeming time. He can take years of waste and turn them into a springboard for purpose and promise.’