“When others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king” ~ Ray Boltz

Discover yourself

Do you battle with a sense of insignificance and being overlooked in life? Do you feel like opportunities deliberately bypass you?

Well, I’d love to let you know one thing: You matter to God.

The truth is that most of us on this planet really don’t know who we are. This is why I usually say discover yourself. The true picture of who you really are is in the heart of God. You must see it because its so beautiful. You matter to God; you are precious to Him.

The life of David is an illustration of the fact that though people might overlook you, if you are connected with your God, His favour will take you to the top.

David was overlooked by his father; he was the last son and everyone regarded him merely as a shepherd boy. David was the ignored child who was considered insignificant. When Samuel was sent to their home to anoint a son of Jesse, nobody told David about it; he just wasn’t important – to man, that is.

Take note of what David’s father said in the passage below:

"So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest", Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep". Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives". (1 Samuel 16:11).

They didn’t even bother to tell David about the meeting with Samuel, because they were ‘convinced’ he didn’t have it in him to be the king of Israel; as far as they were concerned, David wasn’t a candidate for the throne.

When people overlook, ignore, and bypass you, it does not mean that God has. People may bypass you, but with God on your side, all that the Father has given you will come to you.

Even after the whole episode of being anointed by Samuel, David’s family still disregarded him and relegated him to the background. He still continued the lowly work in the wilderness, still served as errand boy to his brothers; but he did it all with a cheerful and positive attitude.

You might be an errand boy today; but if you do not look down on yourself, if you maintain a positive and cheerful attitude, you’ll be the king tomorrow.

The right attitude

David choose to build an intimate and solid relationship with God. Rather than complain of being overlooked by his family, he turned to God and cultivated a powerful relationship with Him. This is the right thing to do. Forget about whether or not people recognize and appreciate you, and rather focus on your relationship with God; make it intimate and strong, knowing that those who know their God shall be strong and will do exploits.

David also developed his gifts and talents during this time. He was too focused on this to have any time for whining about being overlooked. He developed his poetic and prophetic gifts, and consequently wrote some of the most inspiring psalms of all time.

He even went beyond this to learn some very potent fighting skills – slinging. This wasn’t native to his tribe; it was a skill associated with another tribe. Nevertheless, David learnt and mastered it. Thus in the course of time, he used this skill to kill the lion and the bear that tried to dine on his flock.

In other words, while he was ignored and overlooked, David strengthened his faith in God. He developed his gifts and learnt new ones; and through it all, he maintained a positive and cheerful attitude, serving his father faithfully.

When the opportunity presented itself, David dazzled the entire nation by killing Goliath, and thus secured his access to the throne.

The 7 Lessons of David

Today, I ask you to rest assured that you matter to God. He knows your name and all that’s going on in your life right now. Here are 7 lessons from the life of David on what to do when people choose to overlook you:

1. Do not be bitter.
2. Do not lose your joy.
3. Maintain a positive and cheerful attitude.
4. Focus on your relationship with God; strengthen it and make it more intimate.
5. Develop the gifts and talents of God within you. Learn new and relevant ones.
6. Serve God faithfully where you are assigned: Family, church, job.
7. Embrace every opportunity to use your gifts and talents to help others and make good profits for yourself.

If you do these things, as David did, sooner or later, those that ignored and overlooked you will bow down before your throne and call you their king.