You Are Being Prepared for Greater Things!

 

No, I cannot see into the future. But, even at 64 years old, I love to dream about the future and what God has planned for me. I used to golf quite a bit. I really love the sport. It is good exercise, but golf is really challenging. For a short period of time in my life, I played a lot of golf. I played once a week. I was terrible. So I started playing twice a week, and I got better, but I was still not good. I read books and tried to learn and practice as much as I could. I would spend hours at the driving range, practicing my swing. I remember breaking down my swing and trying to visualize my shot. Eventually, I gave up on golf. It was just consuming too much of my time. The hours of practice I needed were just too much, and as my family grew, the money and time to golf was not a priority. My Golf experience taught me a valuable lesson; it takes a lot of hard work and practice to get good at something, and you have to dedicate yourself to that goal. 

When I was studying the very popular story of David and Goliath this week, I was thinking about David's skill and confidence in fighting Goliath. When David was making his proposal to King Saul. He had such confidence in what he could do.

""Don't worry about the Philistine," David told Saul, "I'll go fight him!" "Don't be ridiculous!" Saul replied, "There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You're only a boy, and he's a man of war since his youth."

But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!"" (1 Samuel 17:32-37)

Can you imagine the first time David faced a lion who was attacking his flock? He wasn't terrified when he faced Goliath, but I bet the first time he faced the lion, he was scared. That was the moment of his greatest faith challenge, not the challenge of facing Goliath. When he had no idea what was going to happen, how this little shepherd boy was going to defeat a lion, that is when he learned to trust in God. Through his challenging experiences in life, David was able to have confidence in facing the giant. 

God put David in difficult situations throughout his life to prepare him for battling the giant from Gath. God protected David and gave him experiences that prepared him for battle. I know it seems like a little thing, but I learned a lot from trying to play golf. That lesson prepared me for exactly what I am doing right now.

When I was teaching math, I read and studied to learn everything I could about teaching methods, and I learned by doing. I look back at my early days of teaching and cringe. But, I completely devoted myself to being a better teacher. Over my 25+ years of teaching, I got better because of all that hard work and experience. Those experiences teaching math, a subject that is difficult for so many people, help me now when I am leading discipleship groups. In many ways, the Bible is similarly as challenging as math to many people. 

God has guided me through 64 years of life experiences to get me to the place I am right now. I would not change what I am doing for anything. My dedication to learning God's word, learning how to share it with people, and growing in my own walk with the Lord, has never been more important or more exciting. I don't know what giants I will face in the future. I don't think I will be chosen as the king of Israel. Yet, I do know that I can walk in confidence that God has prepared me for all that I will face, and like David, I can face those challenges with confidence. I know that God has greater things planned. Praise God for this wonderful path he has placed me on. 

How is God preparing you? What giants will you face in the future that God is preparing you for right now? Isn't it exciting to realize God knows your future and he is leading you on a path to prepare you for greater things? Dedicate yourself to the Lord, trust in him, and he will make straight your path!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." (Proverbs 3:5,6)