By Tim Dilena
We all know the story of David — the young shepherd who became a hero when he defeated the Philistine giant named Goliath. David was the youngest son of Jesse, whose three oldest sons were serving in King Saul’s army. Their father Jesse sent David out to the battlefield to check on his brothers and take some provisions to them.
“Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[a] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance[b] from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. ” (1 Samuel 17:-20).
David’s father asked him to do something small and he obeyed, never imagining that this insignificant task would lead to a great victory for himself, for the Israelites and for God. David was bold and he ended up killing Goliath, who had been taunting the men of Israel relentlessly — a feat that would define his life (read the full story in 1 Samuel 17:23-51).
Think of it. The Holy Spirit was not moving on David to take cheese to his brothers, he went because his father told him to. David was making a cheese delivery, a menial act of service, when he was supernaturally positioned for the destiny God had planned for him.
Hudson Taylor , British missionary to China, said, “A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.”
Your entry ramp into your destiny starts with humble tasks that may not even match what you want to do. You must pass the humility test. Many people are never selected to fight the giant because they didn’t want the cheese assignment!
Go from the beginning of the Bible to the end and over and over you’ll find the stories of men and women with servant hearts, minds and spirits who made the world a much better place:
Moses didn’t say, “I don’t do deserts.”
Ruth didn’t say, “I don’t do mothers-in-law.”
Noah didn’t say, “I don’t do boats.”
Mary didn’t say, “I don’t do virgin births.”
Paul didn’t say, “I don’t do letters.”
Jesus didn’t say, “I don’t do crosses.”
Be the believer who does the seemingly insignificant act of service on your way to finding your destiny in Christ. Deliver the cheese!
By Tim Dilena