I Samuel 17:55
‘Now when Saul had seen David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.”’
Three hours ago, David was just an ordinary 20 year old. No one paid him much attention. His brother yelled at him in front of the other soldiers. He was no one of significance. But then he performed the act that God had planned for him. He killed Goliath. God had "set a table for him in the presence of his enemies", Psalm 23.
The Lord seeks to honor His servants at particular times. He does this in several ways. One is by the natural use of our talents. Proverbs 18:16 says, "A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men." God has given us all gifts and talents. These are our natural abilities. As we discover and focus on them we excel. Natural recognition results. If we are applying them in the work world our business becomes fruitful.
The Lord uses our natural abilities. Yes, He gave them to us but He can amplify and maximize them. The Lord is our Helper. He gives us insight as we seek Him. He can work through the natural area of our gifting for for His glory. There might have been some of that with David. He might have been good with the sling.
God can also bring Himself glory through us in the miraculous. It may be an opportunity that He arranged in which He puts us right there in the middle. That may be the miracle. Or He may do the miraculous. Something beyond a natural explanation.
This event catapulted David to instant hero status. This was to bring God glory and to set David on his way towards being king. David was good at not taking credit for these things. He would experience much success in his life. He didn't seem to struggle with pride. I attribute this to his relationship with God. He knew God was behind all this success.
Being God's ambassador takes courage. His message is often not welcome to the world. Most of the prophets were persecuted and some of them were killed. Jesus said in John 15:20, "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also."
He will help us there as well. I love what the angel said to Gideon in Judges 6:12, "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." This was said while he was hiding. He will equip us for the task at hand.
Being used by the Lord involves some self denial. Luke 9:23 says, "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Coming to Christ requires some self denial and our daily following requires the same. At the moment it seems like a big deal, but as time passes and as we are immersed in His blessings those thing seem trivial.
His blessings include a full heart, amazing circumstances, usually cool stuff, but most importantly, the privilege of knowing and walking with Him. Lord, what an honor to be used by You. Thank You for a full life and for choosing us and walking with us.