“Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” 1 Samuel 16:10-11
I read the following quote in a devotion this past weekend that seems to fit these verses from 1 Samuel. “A coincidence is when God performs a miracle and decides to remain anonymous.” Jesse didn’t feel that his youngest son, David the shepherd, was ready for anything but tending sheep. God saw in David the quality of humility. God was looking for a humble servant to become a king; a work that would take time.
Back in the day, while working for the State of Nebraska in Expressway Design, the month of May would always bring a few college graduates into our fold and usually 2 of the 3 would be interested in learning the ropes and working in the trench. But there was always one that announced that they had spent 4 years in college, graduated and were now ready to supervise and sign the time sheets of ‘their’ employees. NOT!
The Lord saw in David the shepherd a heart that was completely His. The boy was faithfully keeping his father's sheep; a humble task. God saw humility: He saw a servant's heart. It's as if God says to us, "I don't care about all that slick public image business and college degrees. Show me a person who has the character, and I'll give him all the image he needs. I don't require some certain temperament, I don't care if he has a lot of charisma, I don't care about their size and stature, I don't care about an impressive education or résumé. I care about character! First, is the person deeply authentic in his or her spiritual walk or are they faking it? And second, is he or she a servant?" When you have a servant's heart, you're humble. You do as you're told. You don't rebel. You respect those in charge. You serve faithfully and quietly without concern over who gets the credit.
Back in the day while living in Haiti, first day that the seminary held class in our office in 2001 was a memorable one for me. There were 25 men in the lower classroom taking their first class on the journey to become a Pastor. There was one toilet and sink attached to their classroom in a room the size of a small closet. None of the students had ever used a flush toilet and when their first break had concluded Pastor Eliona came and told me there was a pwoblem! Twenty-five men had used the bathroom and it was soon discovered that this modern toilet was not self-cleaning. We didn’t have a janitor. I grabbed a plunger, broom and dust pan, bucket and mop and cleaned up the smelly mess in the bathroom while their class resumed. It was culturally incorrect to see a man cleaning up their mess. It was a humbling moment for me. After class, I gave the students an important on how to flush the toilet.
I digress. Let's get back to David. God looked at David, out in the fields in the foothills surrounding Bethlehem, keeping his father's sheep, faithfully doing his father's bidding, and God passed His approval on him. A servant doesn't care who gets the glory; it ain’t about me. It’s very important to always remember that. A servant has one great goal, and that is to make the person he serves look better; to make that person even more successful. A servant does not want the person he serves to fail. A servant doesn't care who thinks what, just so the job gets done. Feeding His children in Haiti is serving Him, doing His work…so those little sheep can serve their Lord in their neighborhoods by bringing Hope to the hopeless. Thank you for being a servant.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay