This is for all the anointed, gifted people who have been hidden.
You have been faithful, you have stayed in your lane, you have stayed humble.
Your life has been a sweet-smelling, sacrifice of worship to your God.
You have worked at your gifting, you have perfected your craft, you have been patiently waiting for your time!
You have wondered:” Lord, when will it be my turn? When will people recognize my gifts? When will You use me, Lord?”
You have cried out to Him: “Lord! Why am I still here tending sheep, while everybody else around me has been promoted? Is this my destiny? Is this where I am supposed to stay? Because my soul is burning on the inside of me, and it longs for more!”
“My child I know you have been disqualified, ignored, and even ridiculed.
Man only looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.
They have not recognized your stature in the spirit. They have been blinded by envy, but I have placed mighty weapons in your hands! Your hands are trained for war!
I Have prepared you for expansion and influence! I have prepared you to fight and defeat giants!
You do not fit the mold, and that pleases me, for I have chosen foolish things to accomplish my purpose, and to shame the wise!
My son, My daughter, your hour of recognition is upon you!
This whole time, while you were tending the sheep and fighting the bears and the lions, I have been preparing you for your biggest victory!
This time of preparation has solidified your confidence in Me, and your understanding of who you are in Me.
During this time of sanctification, this precious time we’ve spent together, you have been saturated with a powerful, glorious anointing!
This anointing will anger people! They won’t be able to stand the level of favor and grace upon your life.
They will come against you with everything they have!
But you need to stay humble and fight the urge to defend yourself because, at the right time, I will Be The One to come to your defense and exalt you in the presence of your enemies!”
1 Samuel 16:7 AMP
For the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks [b]at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Psalm 144:1-2 NLT
Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. 2 He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations[a] submit to me.
1 Peter 5:6 AMP
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time.
1 Corinthians 1:27 NLT
God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
1 Samuel 17:28-50 NLT
28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.
45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on The Rising of the Esthers
Featured Image by Erick Zajac on Unsplash
