You know why I love the Bible?
It is filled with unlikely people who do extraordinary things.
The whole, “God uses the foolish things to shame the wise” thing? Yea, that’s me. And I know I’m in good company when it comes to Scripture. The Bible doesn’t put people’s best foot forward. It tells the truth.
And that truth can give you hope today.
As creatives, it’s easy for us to make excuses – we criticize others, compare our abilities, and bask in our insecurity.
But the truth is, God has a unique role for all of us. Whether you’re a multi-talented creative genius or a one talent wannabe, your place in God’s story is unique.
Even if you’ve failed…
Even if you’re in over your head…
It’s time to step into your destiny today.
That’s why I love the story of David. He inspires me because he was productive in his lack of perfection. He was used by God in his sin.
Characteristics of David:
1. He Was Unlikely – David was young. He was small. He was overlooked. When Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next King of Israel, David wasn’t even invited by his father. But still, God had special plans for this unlikely hero.
2. He Was a Big Time Sinner – Take the story of David and Bathsheba, for example. David broke all the ten commandments in a matter of minutes. He coveted. He murdered. He lied…and the list goes on. Despite all of this, God still used him. His past was redeemed.
3. He Found Strength in God – Remember this verse? “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (I Samuel 30:6). No matter how bleak David’s circumstances became, he found strength in God. He didn’t just try to do better. He ran to God because he knew God was the source of his success.
4. He Had History in God – I love this statement of David: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (I Samuel 17:37). David knew the Lord had done a work in his past. He made it a point not to forget. God’s past work gave David present confidence that He would do it again.
5. He Was a Visionary Leader – Don’t miss this passage of Scripture:
“And the three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David.”
Incredible. David was a visionary leader. He didn’t just command attention or allegiance, he earned it. His people loved to sacrifice for him because David inspired and called out greatness in others.
5 Application Questions
Here are five questions to help you apply these leadership principles from David:
1. Am I disqualifying myself from God’s purposes because of some excuse? My past? My present? My disability?
2. Am I “putting off” living for God because I’m not holy enough?
3. Am I going to God in my seasons of joy and distress?
4. Am I remembering what God has done?
5. Am I a leader worth following?
Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear from you.
What do you need to do to step into your destiny?
Have you been disqualifying yourself?
Share your story in the comments.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
I completely agree. My line of thinking has been slightly different though. I usually say, “Talented people are rarely used by God”. It isn’t because He can’t use them – it’s because they won’t let Him! Talented/gifted people have a tendency to rely on themselves, rather than God. How can we be serving at our most optimal if we’re not relying on Him, letting Him lead? If we fall back on our talent, thinking “I got this”, we’re not allowing God to fully use us.
The Bible is full of people that were untalented, unworthy and completely unprepared for what God put in front of them. But they are people we still talk about today because they did something incredible by rely on the power of God.
A worship pastor I know does a sanity check with his band and PT members every now and then. 10 minutes before the service starts, he’ll turn to a guitar player and say, “Just for today, grab a mic and come sing with us. Leave the guitar back there.” The initial reaction is always the same, “Uh, dude, I don’t sing. I play.” He just smiles and holds out a mic. Granted, he doesn’t do it all the time, and he certainly doesn’t do it if it would cause a gap/hole in the band, or would cause stress in the team. But it’s an interesting way to get inside someone’s heart – are they there to do their thing or are they there to serve God?
And I like what someone said at Celebrate Recovery last night… “it amazes me to look back at something I thought was horrible or painful and finally see, ‘wow, that was God working on me’.
To all of the talented people – get out of the way and let God! 🙂
D
Damon, may I take a different perspective and disagree somewhat with you? I agree with you where you said we fall if we rely on our own talent. That is in scripture. “Pride comes before a fall”. But to say God doesn’t, or rarely, uses talented people ? I am not exactly sure what that means. I view talent as much more than an artistic ability. It is a combination of gifts merged with character. We all have some level of talent. ” We really want God to be glorified on the keyboard today! Anyone out there that doesn’t play want to volunteer?” ( Sorry for the sarcasm to make a point) The apostle Paul was about as talented a human as God ever used. In modern times Billy Graham. I have never heard of anyone referring to David as untalented. He was very multitalented. He is the example of doing things own your own strength, and then falling and being redeemed. That has happened to almost everyone. That is part of being a child of Adam. I think the narrative is more that God uses who He will, talented or untalented, because of the rightness of one’s heart with God. Moses thought himself unqualified because he could not speak well. God knew which “talents” he was looking for in Moses. Not the ability to speak well, but determination and unwavering courage. Samson, same story. Back to David, he had lots of practice developing his “talent” with a sling shot before he killed Goliath. My perspective is, God gave each of us a unique set of talents to be “used” by Him. It is our duty to figure out what those talents are, develop them, and submit our hearts to God. We all say we have faith that God can do anything. Let us demand that everyone in Hillsong resign and be replaced by a group of monotones so God may be glorified. God would be glorified !, but who else would come? (Sorry again) Truth is, everyone in Hillsong will stand before the Bema judgement seat to have their works purified by fire, as all who are redeemed will. (Monotone or not) Lest you think I believe that God could not make a monotone to sing on key, I have seen it happen. I will tell the story if anyone is interested. God is waiting for us to let Him energize the talent He gave us. A spiritually mature talent realizes where their talent comes from and who it belongs to, and realizes that there are so many ways for God to take it away. Damon, and everyone reading, please excuse my sarcasm and preachiness. One last thought. A little girl comes home from Sunday school and says to her dad. I am sad daddy. He says why? She says my Sunday school teacher said I can’t praise Jesus because my voice is to pretty.
Don – I think you might have missed the main point I was trying to make. Yes, I said, “Talented people are rarely used by God”. BUT, I also said, “It isn’t because God can’t use them, it’s because they won’t let Him”. That was my point – that talented people too often rely on their own abilities and strengths, rather than on God. Our talents are a gift from God and I know of no better way to honor that gift than to give it back to Him by using it. But we have to use it the way He wants us to, not how we want to. Daniel is a great example – God had a plan for him, but he wanted to do something else. Eventually, God said ‘enough’ and physically moved Daniel to where he was supposed to be. Even if we’re using our talents in a Godly fashion, it may not be what God wants us doing with our talent.
A few months ago, our worship band lost a guitar player due to a transfer with his job. He was heartbroken to be leaving and we have definitely missed him. Someone in the band said they knew an “awesome guitar player”, so we invited him to rehearsal to see how things would go. He was indeed a great player and it seemed obvious that he wanted everyone to know that. His warm-up was very loud and technically impressive, he took a couple of solos without request or prompting, and I found out later that he was a little miffed that we didn’t compliment him more. So here we have this incredibly talented guitar player that is playing for his own glory and recognition, not for God’s glory. But he’s playing in a worship band, so he’s using his talent for God, right? No, I don’t think he was. I’m not being judgmental of the guy. I think he intended well and thought that by playing in a worship band, any worship band, that he was glorifying God. But unfortunately, he has no place in our worship band. At least not until he gets out of the way and let’s God have the glory. And no, we didn’t simply turn him away. We’ve stayed in communication and are trying to help him understand the vision of our worship band and church. He has an amazing talent, but he has to understand why we’re here and what we’re doing. Our prayer is that God is using us to help him grow.
I hope you hear my heart on this – I’m not saying talented people aren’t or cannot be used by God. I’m only pointing out that, in my experience, many talented people rely on themselves, not God. God gave us the talents and He has a plan for them. Too many times talented people follow their own plans. Moses had to rely on God to get the job done. David had talents, but still relied on God, and used those talents for God, not himself. Paul was very talented, but he also submitted to God’s will (not many of his talents were showcased while he was sitting in prison).
Sorry for any confusion. Hopefully my point is a little more clear…
D
Damon, thanks for the follow up. Read carefully what I wrote, everything I said basically has qualifiers attached. I also believe you to be accomplished and insightful. I have really enjoyed some of your other posts. We are looking at two sides of the same coin. I absolutely got your point and was flipping the coin.
I should have stopped at perspective. I really don’t disagree. I know a player similar to the one you mentioned. But my experience has shown me many more with false humility as an excuse for not being better at their craft. They are actually the bottleneck impeding the flow of worship and restricting the development of excellence.They essentially say the same things you said in your original post. On a similar post a few weeks back, I said “Work to be the best you can be and pray urgently for God to move and inhabit the praise of His people. Not, be unprepared and expect God to bail you out.”
I actually don’t disagree with your basic premise. It is just music if our hearts are not right. Empty excellence. There can also be empty mediocrity. But the eternal value of what we do is measured by God as we are stewards of what he gave us. Do we practice diligently and pray urgently, or do we practice mediocrity and false humility. I mentioned to David that I will not be posting for a while, other things going on. But I will be reading. My approach to most things is balance. Wordiness does not necessarily say anything, but undue brevity leads to confusion and misunderstanding. I like to read fully developed thoughts, not one liners that make a good sound bites, but leave you wondering what was said. I know it is generational, but I rarely text. I also find that many profound truths are paradoxically dual in nature. Therefore, there is no actual argument, just examination of the other side of the coin.
Damon, I look forward to seeing more of your posts.
I refrained from posting a comment in David’s “Excellence” column, as that topic is a pet peeve of mine. As a band/PT and as individuals, we pray that God be here today – in this services and in our lives. His Word promises that where two or more are gathered in His name, He will be there! So we come together and ask Him to not only be here, but to fill the place with His Spirit until our cups run over. And after praying that, someone has the audacity to not bring their A-game and give Him their absolute best?? The King of Kings is in the front row, bending His ear to hear your song of praise and you’re not prepared or aren’t “feeling it” today?? ARRR!
I realize we all walk the fine line between entertainment and genuine worship, but we MUST give Him our best. That goes for our private practice time, group rehearsals, and during the worship service. We have a standing rule – if you cannot, for whatever reason, give Him your best today, go sit down and use this service to get right with Him. No questions asked. He deserves nothing less than our best.
Sorry David… we kinda strayed off topic.
You said it much better than I did, but yeah!
I love this!
Damon & Don – I can hear where you’re both coming from and think you’re both right, to a certain extent. This conversation reminds me of what God said to Paul in II Corinthians – “My power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul was extremely talented on so many levels. Still, he had a thorn in the flesh. He wanted it to go away so he could be used by God with his talents alone. God uses both – weakness and strength. Both have their place in the kingdom. I love talent, I’m thankful for talent, and I try and cultivate talent. I’m learning how to thank God for my weakness too because God loves to reveal His glory through that as well.
I totally agree. Back to “empty excellence” as we talked about. You said in your last post that you crave discussion. Careful what you wish for. Have you ever wondered why we don’t know what Paul’s thorn was?
David , I also meant to say. Damon posted, I ambushed him, but not maliciously. More discussion means more writing.
Many have speculated that he had some sort of eye issue, but nothing is definite. Maybe God wanted it to be somewhat ambiguous?
David, did you crave that much discussion? Ha Ha ! I made nice, I think ! ?
Oh yes – I love this. Comments are always better when we interact 🙂
At a US Army post in Germany a chaplain approached a number of us to start a contemporary service. I had done some leading but decided that leading was not my gift. Even with a few who were more skilled than myself I ended up leading with my wife scheduling musicians, doing the order of worship and all CCLI work. I said I would do it until “someone better” came along. Each week there I was at times “plugging away” but each sermon brought more people and with that more gifts to bring that added to the praise team and each week I still would ask God if He was sure he had the right person. It seemed to take forever and rarely felt good at first but God made the right people show up in every one of the ministries. People got baptised, young and old learned, the community was served and I believe God felt worship.
So did “someone better” ever come along? Or did you feel you were that guy – the one who God appointed?
The fact that it went on for 2 years with no-one better made me believe I was supposed to be there. I was not in the military but my job sent me back to the states and the main chaplain left soon after and the decision was to make a blended service with the contemporary and one of the traditional services. In retrospect I was “That guy”.
Wow! As you share I am reminded of the life of David and I definitely have to say it looks a lot like mine. (In how he would mess up..) As I go through this check list I find that I am definitely lacking in some of the areas. One of those on the list that I struggle with is finding strength in God even in the moments that look the darkest. David truly exemplified that, and it encourages me to know that it it possible. I also love how David’s relationship with God became strong even before he had any eyes watching him. David was a cool dude.
~Moses
That’s a great point, Moses. David worshiped God with all his heart before he had an audience. That’s saying a lot.
This is a REALLY great blog post…a great encouragement and reminder for me. What actually spoke to me the most out of it, wasn’t until the last line…the 5th application question…”Am I a leader worth following?” Now for me, I don’t smoke, do drugs, swear – I don’t find my self addicted to a specific sin, I find my self caught in the place of complacency and apathy. Being a leader worth following isn’t about perfection and being “sinless”, I mess up all the time – we ALL do. I find myself waiting to become “better”, but in reality I’M the one that makes that choice…Steven Furtick says it best in his book “Greater”. He says “Stop waiting for what you want, and start working with what you have.” To me, a leader worth following is one who is PASSIONATE. One who unwaveringly CARRIES the love of Christ in them, one who has JOY in their hearts against ALL odds. One who fails and get back up! I want to be that leader…one who is found faithful to God with a passionate heart. That is my desire.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Great thoughts, Carlie. Great leaders most definitely are passionate. Have you read this post? https://www.davidsantistevan.com/leader-worth-following/ I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
David, not to take the antagonistic view here, but my understanding of King David’s heart was to “dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” (Ps 27:4). It was the one thing he sought. All else came secondary to him. Although it’s true David was chosen because he was a man after God’s heart, I’m not yet convinced David’s motive was to be all that he could be and “reach his destiny” as it were.
Hypothetical questions: If all people sought was to dwell in the house of the Lord, how would our modern church culture treat them? In today’s church, is there more focus on getting people to volunteer in programs? (Of course, there is some context behind these questions. So, I’m willing to share if necessary).
Again, I don’t mean to take the antagonist approach here, but I’m compelled to look at all perspectives here. As always, thanks for your patience and the conversation. Blessings to you!
Hmmm…interesting. Do we focus on stepping into our destiny or is it a by-product of simply “gazing upon the Lord?” I don’t know if David was concerned about his destiny or not. I think all of us are concerned about that to a certain degree. What do you think?
Good question. In all honesty, I’m more convinced our “destiny” is a by-product of being in the Lord’s presence because he is the one who exalts us in the presence of our peers (not of our own accomplishments). After all, HE is our destiny. In working on behalf of his kingdom, it’s more wise of us to take the lesser seat at God’s table and have him bring us to a place of prominence than for us to work for a place of prominence only to have God bring us lower so he can exalt another who waited patiently on him. So, it is true the Lord chooses the weak things to shame the strong, and the foolish things to shame the wise.
When we allow that to happen, we can honestly tell people “God did this; He can do the same for you” instead of “this is what I did, and I’m going to show you how it’s done.” We walk faith by faith; on every word that comes from God’s mouth. His counsel comes to us when we are with him — not with a “Lord, I want THIS” posture but a “Lord, what do YOU say about this” posture.
When we look at examples of scripture, Moses led the nation God built by being in God’s presence. Moses even said, “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
Question remain: are we willing to be “God’s prophets” where we hang on every word that comes from God’s mouth?
I promise we’ll reach our calling in His time since our destiny is in Him. Hope all that made sense. Blessings to you, brother! May the Lord richly bless you and your ministry, and may the Lord’s Spirit rest on you.
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