Ministry of the Mundane

The kids and I have been looking at the life of David this week. One of the most amazing qualities of His Word is how something new seems to stand out each time I reread familiar passages - it just never gets old - love that! This coming from a person who likes completion, once I finish a book, I rarely reread it again unless I'm searching for a meaningful quote. This morning's lesson - what we do in the "daily", perhaps mundane tasks, is where life's building blocks (foundations) are formed - but aren't those the ones we frown upon often?

In reading in 1 Samuel 16 and 17, our eyes and ears fell upon concepts that sometimes go unnoticed. In our familiarity with the big guy who fell from one simple stone launched by the little guy, we tend to gloss over the former history of this little guy. David was the youngest son of Jesse, the little guy. When it came time for Samuel to anoint a king (the Spirit of the Lord had parted from Saul, the current King), the Spirit led him to the family of Jesse. One by one, Samuel was introduced to the sons, and the Lord said to Samuel "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. Man looks at the outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart." (vs. 7) So whom does the Lord chose? One with a heart, and also "was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features" (12), go figure. The One who is sovereign, all knowing, has a plan.

The facts that stuck out to me this morning began with a question I asked the kids, "So what did David do after he was anointed, after his new calling on life?" Answer - He went back to the fields, he continued doing the work of a shepherd, and waited patiently on the Lord. Perhaps you sense a calling for you life? Perhaps God has chosen to given you visions, words, a sense of his divine plan for your life, and... you're not sure what to do about it? What do we do in the mean-time? May I suggest that we are to continue in the ministry of our "fields". Perhaps He is using this time for a preparation of sorts, perhaps even a heart check-up.

Next, we read that David was asked to come and play his harp for King Saul. When he was summonsed, he would play, then he would return to his fields. This was a new step, but a step towards what? I wonder if David considered Samuel's anointing a distant dream? He is anointed, serves the king, but then returns home to take care of his father's sheep. Yet in the mundane, as he serves his father at a thankless job, David is unknowingly being prepared for the challenges to come. In obeying Jesse, David learns to obey his Heavenly Father. On quiet hillsides while guarding sheep, Israel's God becomes living and real in David's life. Through daily troubles, David's faith grows, and he discovers his God-given strengths.

How could he possibly have known that by becoming skilled with a sling to save his father's sheep, he would someday save God's lost sheep - Israel? David has no idea how his faithfulness in daily living plays into God's bigger plan... and perhaps, neither do we. Will we continue to serve him today? Can we have joy in the mundane? Perhaps, it's an issue of the heart.

Lord, thank you today for this personal touch. My heart gravitated towards grumbling and even complaining today as the week's daily chores were upon my thoughts. Thank you for the question posed at Bible Study this morning - If I am never recognized for the tasks of today, can I still be satisfied in You? Thank you for the reminder that you, Jesus, can use our smallest offerings to accomplish the impossible in our everyday lives. Lord, my heart does desire to seek after you with everything, and most especially on the days when I feel I have nothing TO offer. Lord, I do recognize my husband is watching, my children are watching, my family is watching, my neighbor is watching. Do they see you? in everything...?