When Your Divine Assignment Seems Unimportant
Has God given you a divine assignment that doesn’t include a spotlight? In this post, Sarah Callen is reflecting on the divine appointments that had to happen behind the scenes in 1 Samuel 9.
Do you like change? Or do you tend to resist it?
I tend to be somewhat resistant to change. I always have some questions about an endeavor before jumping into it. I want to do my research to ensure that everything’s on the up and up before I commit to any change. And it’s really obvious when I don’t want to do something.
I wonder if that’s how King Saul was also. In the Bible, Saul is probably most remembered for becoming increasingly unhinged as a ruler and seeking to murder his successor, David.
Saul’s legacy as king is tainted by the end of his rule and his disobedience to God. But before that, he was a seemingly regular guy. And I think there are some things that we can learn from his story.
Introducing Saul
In 1 Samuel 9, we learn that Saul is off on an adventure trying to find his father’s donkeys that had run away. They had spent hours and hours roaming about looking for these unruly animals to no avail. Then Saul decided the donkeys simply weren’t worth their continued search and suggested that they turn back home.
His servant offers another idea: ask the man of God in the area (the prophet Samuel) to ask God about where the donkeys ran off to. It might just be my natural apprehension, but I sense some hesitancy in Saul’s response to the servant’s suggestion.
To me, it seems as though he’s dragging his feet, unwilling to do more than he’s already done. He’s traversed all over the place to find these donkeys. I wonder if he was thinking it was just better at this point to write off his losses than to continue to search in futility for these creatures. I’m sure his feet hurt, and he probably wanted to go home.
But the persistence and his faithful servant propelled Saul to continue moving forward.
Sometimes we’re like Saul in this story—we want to give up and turn around right before something significant happens in our lives.
Other times we’re like this unnamed servant who pushes their companion forward when they think they’ve met their edge.
Related Post: 3 Lessons in Trusting God (even when you cannot see)
Their Divine Assignments were Essential, but They were Unnamed
As they’re on their journey to find Samuel, they get some help from some young women who give them directions (v.11-13). And I think the coolest part of this whole story is found in verse 15. “Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel…” (1 Samuel 9:15).
This short sentence reveals that God had orchestrated this divine moment between Saul and Samuel.
What I love about this story is that other people were involved in this setup. Saul’s unnamed servant had to push his boss forward, even when Saul wanted to call it quits. A group of unnamed women had to point Saul and his servant in the right direction of Samuel. If these women hadn’t done what they did and spoken up when they did, this divine moment might have passed Saul by.
The miraculous meeting of Saul and Samuel was achieved because of the people around them. Whether they knew it or not, these unnamed people (the young women and Saul’s servant) were instrumental in this divine appointment.
Stories like this make me wonder how often God invites me to participate in the miraculous, and I miss it because I expect things to look differently. Maybe those small nudges from the Holy Spirit that I think are insignificant are actually incredibly important. Perhaps these are moments of God inviting me to co-labor with Him in accomplishing something special in the earth. Something I consider insignificant, could be a divine assignment.
Are You Prepared for a Divine Assignment?
Today, let’s ask God to open our ears to hear His voice and give us the courage to respond accordingly. Maybe there will be unexpected opportunities, even today, to participate in some small way in the miraculous. Let’s keep our eyes open for the divine that’s happening all around us—who knows what God may do.
From the Desk of Heather Hart
Bible Besties
The stories of the people in the Bible aren’t so far removed from us that we can’t relate to them. In fact, their stories are often our stories.
In this 28-day devotional by Heather Hart, you’ll not only find Bible characters who went through some of the same things you’re facing in life, you’ll develop friendships (or kinships) you never expected.
