Fields of Isolation
“I’m here to figure out who the next king will be, Jesse,” Samuel said.
“Take a look here are my sons, I’m sure that we all can guess who it’s going to be!” Jesse stated with excitement at the very thought that one of his sons would become king!
Samuel started with the first, looking him over and even thinking to himself yes this must be the next king, tall, handsome, and seems like a leader. He is the oldest of them after all. “Not him” Samuel heard, “In fact, none of these sons are going to be the next king. Ask Jesse where his youngest son is.”
“Jesse, where is your youngest son?” Samuel asked.
“David?!? He is out in the fields tending the sheep,” Jesse replied a bit shocked–wouldn’t one of his older sons make more sense? Samuel, just as bewildered by the Lord’s prompting, told Jesse ”Well, go and bring him here…”
This is how I vision the scene in 1 Samuel 16 going. I think that yes, Jesse and Samuel had assumptions, same with the seven sons in the house. But, God clearly had a different plan and purpose in mind.
To the world the oldest, the second eldest, the tallest, smartest, strongest, and the one with the most vision that would make the most sense to be king. Yet, it was the one out in the field tending the sheep, the youngest, probably the smallest, and the one last thought of who was chosen. Our eyes only see the outward appearance of people, while God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7)
It’s intriguing to me because when David was worshipping and serving unnoticed and anonymous he got called! It wasn’t when he was in the front, it wasn’t when he was deemed old enough, smart enough, or even ready. It was when he was simply being himself: probably broken (I’ll get to that in a moment), unsure of himself, but sure of who God was, that he was then placed in a position of leadership.
The reason I say that he was probably broken is because of this: if you notice he was still out in the field. He wasn’t even invited in by his father. What would you do if your father were present, but he still doesn’t see you? David was already secluded from his family. It was his job to tend the sheep, the loneliest job, but then when his dad was asked to round up all his sons, he didn’t even think about reaching out to David. Wouldn’t this leave you broken?
Imagine, or maybe you’ve been in this place, you feel so different, isolated, rejected. More so for David, he was not only rejected by his family, but by his tribe. But, why? What did David do other than simply be the youngest? I’m sure nothing, yet because of his “position” he was already labeled, judged, and his outcome determined by those who were supposedly closest to him.
Perhaps this is resonating with you, I know it is for me: being seen as the odd ball, misunderstood, pushed to the side, viewed as something I’m not, and always in the background. I feel I am not really seen for who I am, but just what is projected onto me. Yes, we all have gone through these times, and maybe you are currently in one. If so, I hope you can be encouraged by these next words…
You are not forgotten.
You are not disregarded.
You are not just an option, you are the first choice.
God has, and is, continually looking for people to take responsibility in every generation. He is wanting to raise up uncompromising voices that are brave enough to speak the truth, to be apart of the social issues, to love those around them, and to do as He commands. Sometimes what you have will be hidden in plain sight. For David, he was so overlooked that he wasn’t invited in as an option, yet he still remained faithful with what he was asked to do. Will you remain faithful?
Here is my take on what happened when David was invited in…
“David, dad wants you to come in, hurry!” his brother yelled. Taking one last scan to make sure that the sheep would be safe, David left his flock to go inside. He ran as fast as he could, for he knew that he couldn’t leave them long. As he came into the house, sweat dripped from his brow and breathing heavily, “Dad, you wanted me?”
“Yes, son. Samuel here has something to tell you,” Jesse replied.
Samuel took the anointing oil from his bag and told David, “The Lord has called you to be the next king” and he anointed David’s head with oil. After David had paid his respects, he turned to his dad and asked “Is it alright if I go back to the sheep now?”
You see, even when David was anointed king he still returned back to what he was suppose to be doing, to tend the sheep. Because all the time spent in the fields worshiping, spending endless hours with the Lord allowed him to understand something: who he was as the Lord sees him and not as the surrounding world did.
Because, the thing about the anointing is that it doesn’t change who we are but rather it unlocks who we are. God has always had an intentional plan for your life. Because He as our Father wants us to go further than He has been. Even Jesus told His disciples “For you will do greater things than me” (John 14:12). The enemy will do anything he can to stop us from getting to that place of greater things. For he loathes the fact that we can draw near to the Father’s heart. He knows that as we do, we in turn better understand who we are and what we are capable of. I think that is why he attacks us so heavily with rejection.
What would it look like for us though to walk in freedom from rejection in our lives? To know that we are always invited into our Father’s house no matter what? To believe that we aren’t just an option to Him? By no means is this easy, it’s a daily battle, but its also a daily choice for us to go and get away with our Father in the fields to tend the sheep. David could have allowed his time in the fields to become bitter, deceived by the enemy to believe that he truly wasn’t good enough. Instead his time spent in what the world perceived as “fields of isolation” were actually “fields of preparation” all along. God uses these times for a far richer and deeper purpose than we can ever understand. How will you look at the fields in which you are placed? How will you be intentional with your time there? My hope for us all is that we are faithful with the time given and steward it the way David did.
