David had successfully brought the Ark of the Covenant safely to Jerusalem, and had organized the priests to offer sacrifices and praises unto the Lord. David truly desired to build a house for the Lord, because the Ark was dwelling in an edifice made of curtains (1 Chr. 17:1). The Lord refused David the opportunity to build a house, for that responsibility would be given to Solomon. Part of the Lord’s response is what I want to draw from today.
The Lord said, “I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel” (1 Chr. 17:7). David went from being a shepherd to a sovereign because of God’s grace and love. God reminded David of his humble beginnings. David wasn’t born a king, he was born a son of a shepherd. The Lord continued and said, “And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee.” God took a ruddy little shepherd boy and made him into Israel’s king.
The process from the sheepcote to the palace is what many want to avoid. They want the palace without the process. Time and distance existed between David’s initial call and the fulfillment of it. Could David have been the great king he was without the process he went through? I don’t believe so. David learned how to be dependent on the Lord during those transformative years.
Brothers and sisters, God may take His time to develop you and your calling. Israel was in need of a great man to lead them. Before David could lay claim to that role, there were giants to be killed, rejection to be experienced, jealousy to endure, cold caves to be slept in and a whole lot of prayer and patience. Don’t forsake the process between the sheepcote and the palace.