November 3, 2024

Preparation for Promotion

It is easy for us to be impatient with God’s timeline of blessing, or to wonder why God is not prospering us as we think we should be.

In 1 Samuel 22:1–2, we are given a snapshot of how God prepared David, a little shepherd boy, to be king,

David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

Just think how David must have felt. God tells Him, “David, you’re going to be Israel’s next king!” but Saul is chasing him across the countryside and the people who are following him are all the outcasts, the people with problems, the people who are unhappy, the people who don’t have any money.

On top of that, the next few verses of this passage talk about how David had to move his family to a foreign country just to keep them safe. Some promotion!

But you know what? Through it all David was learning how to trust God and how to manage people. His character was being tested. He was being fitted by God to wear the garments of a king: the garment of mercy, fairness, and wisdom, the shoes of decisiveness, the belt of strength, covered with a robe of gentleness.

The fullness of his promotion came in due season, and so will yours. David was not ready to be king when he walked out of the field as a young shepherd boy, so do not be surprised if you also need to be prepared for your promotion!

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