The Master's Touch

I laughed when I read 1 Samuel 17:32. David, just a teenager has gone to Saul to tell him he’ll fight the giant Goliath. David enters and says, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” In other words, David says, “Guys, just chill out. I’ll go fight this guy. No worries!” Coming from a teenage boy to Saul, a man of war, this probably got a lot of laughs from anybody listening! Nobody was laughing, though, when he killed Goliath with a slingshot.

Sometimes God uses the least qualified people to do the most extraordinary tasks, ultimately bringing Him the most glory possible. David had never fought in a battle before. He had no experience with a sword or armor. God didn’t choose David because of his abilities, but rather because he allowed God to use his inabilities. David was able to kill Goliath because he trusted God to take him past his abilities. If we can do something within ourselves, then God will let us do it by ourselves. It is when we say, “God, I can’t do this on my own, and I have to have your help” that He can use us beyond our wildest imaginations.

If you feel like God has called you to do something really big, beyond your capabilities, don’t think it is because of something you did or some ability you have. God chose you because of what you couldn’t do so He could do it through you and bring Himself glory.

A famous painter decided to offer an art class to hopefully instill some of his knowledge and talent into others. He had several students sign up to attend. Many of the students in the class had taken painting classes before, and already showed promising talent. They all hoped they would be his favorite student, the one he approved of the most. Some of the students were less talented, and one boy barely knew how to do basic strokes with a paintbrush.

The painter walked around with his paintbrush, giving tips here and suggestions there. Some of the more experienced painters rejected his information because they felt they knew better. Others said he didn’t understand their form of expression. He passed them up and came to the boy who had never before painted a picture. The boy wasn’t sure how to even begin. The artist came up and placed the boy’s hands in the correct position on the brush, and with his hand still guiding the boy’s, dipped the brush in paint. They lifted their hands together to the canvas, and the brush glided across the surface.

The master painter would tell the boy which colors would look the best together, and told him which strokes to use where, often guiding his hand. The canvases of the other painters had more paint on them and looked much better than the boy’s, but the boy was happy because the master painter was helping him. Day after day they would work on this painting together, and an image eventually began to form. Slowly a beautiful rose garden emerged, and the other artists began to look with resentment as they saw that this picture was far better than any of theirs. After the picture was done, many people looked in astonishment at it, for it was as good as any picture the master had ever painted.

The painting was a masterpiece because of the master’s touch. It would have been foolish for the boy to take the credit for the quality of the painting, and it would be equally as foolish and arrogant for us to take credit for the amazing things God can do in our lives if we let Him. The measure of our successes does not depend on our abilities or talents, but on how much we let the hand of the Master lead us.

Faithful in the Field

Just five more months and I’ll be walking across the stage to graduate! The big moment will finally be here, and I won’t have to do any more studying or worrying about finals week or pulling an all-nighter. I’ll have finally made it!

But then what?...

What if I graduate just to get stuck at a job I don’t like, and where I don’t feel I’m making a difference in the world? What if I know I could be doing something more, but don’t know how to get there? What if I don’t fulfill my potential?

In 1 Samuel 16, David is facing a similar situation. He is out in the fields, probably playing a harp to ease the boredom of being alone with hundreds of sheep day after day. His brothers are all bigger, older, and better looking than he is, out fighting in the war, but here he is, watching sheep. Surely he knows there is something more for his life….but sometimes he wonders. Maybe he was just meant to watch sheep.

Then the day comes where he sees someone approaching, beckoning him to come into the house where the prophet Samuel is waiting. He feels a twinge of nerves and excitement as he enters the house. As his brothers watch, Samuel then anoints him the future king of Israel. As the anointing oil drips off his head and runs onto his shoulders and his brothers are probably wondering if the heat got to Samuel for anointing their little brother, David begins to realize he was destined for more than a field of sheep. Some day he’ll be king…

The next morning David wakes up and remembers what happened the day before. The smell of anointing oil has faded, and David heads to the field for another day of watching sheep. Day after day passes, and David is still watching sheep. Is this right? Did Samuel anoint David the next king for him to just sit in the fields? Surely David should be fighting in the war and making himself a hero! How else will he become king? But yet he finds himself in a field, not with a scepter, but with a staff.

If you know the story of David, you know he eventually became king. You know he went to play for Saul in the palace, and how he killed Goliath and became Israel’s hero. How did he get there? Did he plot and scheme his way to the throne, knowing he would succeed because God had promised? Did he worry constantly that he wasn’t doing the necessary actions to become king?

No. He knew that the same God who sent Samuel to call him from the field and anoint him king still knew where he was. He became king because he was faithful where God placed him. He did the best he could at what he was given. He learned to play the harp so well while watching sheep that he was asked to play in the palace. He also killed a lion and a bear without weapons to defend his sheep, preparation for when he would later kill a giant to defend his God.

Maybe we don’t understand why we are where we are, or how the tools in our hands could possibly be used to take us where God has called us. We even wonder sometimes whether we were meant to do more, or if we were just imagining.

But just like David, even if we have to “go back to the field” the next morning, let’s be faithful. Let us do our best even when we don’t understand why. He hasn’t forgotten where we are. If we just remain faithful where God has placed us, do the best we can at what He has given us to do, and keep believing, then He’ll be able to promote us beyond what we could ever imagine.

Just keep practicing that harp!