Gradual promotion

Have you ever felt like God was calling you to do something only to have the road to your destination filled with seemingly closed doors? I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have faced this in my own life. Even now, my husband and I feel like God wants us to minister to the homeless and open another shelter for them but the doors haven’t opened for the dream to come true yet. We know God told us to do this, but the waiting has been so long and hard. I have to say that even though we received the vision from God, the doubting questions still resonate in the back of our minds…..”Did we hear correctly?, Did we miss it somehow?, Is this all there is?” And sometimes the occasional “I feel like giving up” thought will peer its ugly head.

There is a very popular person in the Bible who faced a long waiting time between his appointment and his promotion. (Actually, there are quite a few but I will just touch on one). We all know and love King David in the Bible. His stories were embedded in our memory since our childhood Sunday School classes. David was anointed to become king by Samuel when he was very young. Some scholars believe he was between the ages of 10 – 15 years old. He became king when he was around 30 years old. Even though David had to wait, God was in full control and working behind the scenes.

After David was anointed to be the future king of Israel, the Spirit of the Lord fell mightily upon him. The same Spirit departed from King Saul and a distressing spirit sent from the Lord caused him great distress and depression. He often felt as if he was going to lose his mind. His officials urgently persuaded him to send for someone who can play skillfully on the harp to help quiet Saul’s torment. I Samuel 16:18 says

“Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”

What a resume David already had for himself. At a young age, God’s favor reigned upon David. How are you known to people during your waiting period? Do you have the qualities of David, or are you impatient, never waiting on God, and trying to get things done in your own strength?

The Bible says that King Saul sent for David and asked for him to come to the palace. I’m sure David must have wondered if this was his appointed time to become king over Israel. The excitement that must have filled his young mind was probably explosive. But, we all know from the story that this was not David’s appointed time, but a start of his preparation process. David would go back and fourth between the palace and his home while he was needed by King Saul. During this time we read in I Samuel 16:21 that Saul loved David greatly. David was able to learn the ways of the kingdom and he learned how to wait on God’s timing.

David had to face many hardships before he would become king. The man who greatly loved David would soon become very jealous of David and want him dead. Every time it seemed like David was getting victory, something else would go very wrong. I’m sure he questioned if he really was the chosen king. We can hear his most intimate utterances in the book of Psalm. He suffered so much on his road of preparation. The most important lesson that David had to learn during these trying times was to trust God’s ability and God’s timing.

David had to be very careful not to get ahead of God. We, too, need to always make sure we are listening to the still small voice of our Father. We need to trust that He has every detail of our lives in perfect order. There have been times in my life, and I’m sure your life to, when I have gotten ahead of God and it ended disastrous. I almost married the wrong person. I didn’t listen for God’s still small voice telling me not to marry this person. I wasn’t allowing myself to listen to God’s direction or timing for my life because I wanted to do things my way and I didn’t want to wait. I didn’t write down my vision and make it plain. I did, eventually, end the relationship and found my wonderful husband whom I love with all my heart and couldn’t imagine life without him.

More often than not, God will give you a dream or a vision and you will have times of movement in the right direction only to see it short-lived. Your sight may become clouded as you ponder what is happening. You will go back and forth from where you are to where you are going until the time is ready for you to take your place of appointment. You are in the training season of your life. Don’t lose hope and don’t lose heart during this season. This is a time where God is preparing you to be elevated. Your promotion is coming! Stay humble and stay ready. Zechariah 4:10 says:

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”

God wants to see you promoted just as much as you want your dream to come true. Everything you are doing right now is not being done in vain. God see’s you and is developing you into the man or woman He created you to be. You are being prepared to move on to your destiny. Learn how to discern God’s voice and begin to see His suttle movement all around you. Promotion comes from God and in God’s timing. You are exactly where God wants you during this season of your life. Take heart if it feels like you are taking one step forward and two steps back. Everything will work out and you will be able to find your joy in today.