What did you want to be when you were growing up? Many of us wanted to be a police man, fireman, or a super hero. Some of that had to do with feeling powerful, but I believe the biggest reason is we want to make a difference. We want our lives to be bigger than ourselves. We look up to great people like Mother Terresa, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and of course Jesus. Each of these people made a significant difference in history. They made our world better.
With all of these people, the way they made a difference was the were different. They did not use their time, talent, treasure and influence the same way other people did. They were different. I think the reason many people do not make a significant difference is they are not willing to be different. Many people spend their time, talent, treasure and influence the same way everyone else does. They wake up as late as possible, spend as much time in entertainment or the pursuit of stuff as possible, read as little as possible after all you might miss an episode, try to spend some time with family, and if there is room in our overly busy schedules… time with God. I challenge if that will make a difference. I wander what it would look like to be different enough to make a difference.
King David did not begin as a king but as a shepherd and the youngest son. This is not the making of a king. The prophet Samuel shows up one day and anoints David as king. So you would think David would be king soon right? Not so. The next scene is David being invited to play the harp for king Saul. Saul likes David and thinks he should be an armor bearer for him. It would be easy for David to be disappointed in his opportunities. What if David playing the harp and serving as an armor bearer, God was preparing him to lead a country by overhearing king sized conversations? Then David faces Goliath and we know with a sling and 5 stones David takes down the giant. What if God planned for David to win over the army was an opportunity for David to save all of them and their families from slavery? Saul gets jealous of David and tries to kill him, and David runs all over the country away from Saul. What if God wanted to show David the territory he was going to lead?
David did not act like all of the other men. I believe David thought different. When other men saw a giant, David saw an opportunity. What giants are you facing trying to pray them away, when God wants you to overcome them by His power? How does God want you think different?
David prepared different. We all like game day, but it is the preparation that determines the winner. God used some really not fun opportunities to train David to be king. What is in front of you, that if you used it as an opportunity to prepare for something down the road, you would find purpose in it?
To make a difference, you have to be different. To be different you have to prepare and think different.
Recklessly, obsessively following Jesus
Brandon Sereg
