1 Samuel 17:15 “But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.”
One of the greatest challenges for all youth is P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E: waiting on God’s plan and timing for their life. This is especially true when it involves taking a Divine Detour into obscurity for a time. David had just such a Divine Detour. He had been promoted to King Saul’s minstrel, or music player, to help him through troubled times (the right music matters, BTW). How absolutely thrilling it must have been to be right in the middle of the action with the king! But God sent David on a Divine Detour back to tending his father’s few sheep near Bethlehem. All alone and demoted into absolute obscurity, David probably felt that he missed his one big chance to make something of himself. Well, God hadn’t forgotten David; in fact, God was preparing David for a bigger role – a giant slayer! God sent David on that Divine Delay because while he was out there all alone with no one to help him but God, he discovered that God was all he needed to take care of him. A lion and a bear came to kill some of his sheep, and God empowered and protected David to kill both those predators and to save his sheep. God was proving Himself to David and preparing him for his real opportunity. When the day came, and Goliath roared, David was ready for God’s opportunity, something he would never have been ready for had he stayed in the king’s court.
I know it’s hard waiting on God. I’ve been there and wondered why God has sent me on a few Divine Delays in my life. But I have found each and every time that God was proving Himself and preparing me for what was ahead. Don’t fret, don’t panic, God has you on the right road. Just let Him do His work of preparing you for your big opportunity in life. In every Divine Detour, God is proving Himself and preparing you for what is ahead.
Robert Pophal | Pastor
Rose Park Baptist Church | Holland, Michigan
https://www.rpbcholland.org/