The Gap

Have you ever felt in life that you are capable of so much more than what you are currently doing?  I know I have felt this way before and sometimes still do.  To be honest, when I first started staying at home with my kids about 4 years ago I felt as though I wasn't really doing much with my life.  At that time I had two kids I was at home with, a 2 year old and a 4 year old with one on the way.  I felt as though my life was sort of mundane, and that I should be doing so much more.  However; with now three kids in the mix and many life lessons behind me  I now understand why I am experiencing this gap.  I believe we all have these gaps in life. Actually, sometimes we may just feel that we are existing, maybe not doing a whole lot, maybe doing less than what we feel are capable of.  Here's the secret....this is preparation for what lies ahead of each and everyone us.  We are being prepared and groomed for the extraordinary for something phenomenal! we may not see or know exactly what is..... but God knows.

As I was working out today I thought about the story of David.  The story of David reminds me of the gaps that we have in life.  David was one of eight siblings and he was a shepherd for his father Jessie. I'll give you brief history on how he became King. David had to replace a king named Saul.  God gave a judge named Samuel a word and told him to go to a man named Jessie's house for the next king.  Samuel arrived and asked Jessie to bring all of his sons to him because, one of them is king.  Jessie did so, he brought out seven of his sons and Samuel said to God "surely one of them is king?"  God replied "not so, for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart" 1 Samuel 16:7.  Samuel asked Jessie if he had any more sons?  Jessie replied yes, but he's a shepherd Samuel  told him to go and get the boy.  Jessie brought David in to meet Samuel and God said to Samuel "this is my next King"!  Historians actually believe that the way Samuel knew who was and was not king was because, in that day they anointed each King with a rams head full of oil.  In this story the oil did not pour onto the seven other brothers, however; when David walked in the oil flowed all over him.  (You can read the entire story of how David becomes ruler over Israel by reading 1 Samuel 16- 2 Samuel 10)

You see, we all have a particular anointing that God has in store for us. Even if seven people are ahead of us. if God prepared that anointing for you it will be there when he has it ready for you. The gap is actually a time or period in our lives where God uses it to build character within us.  He uses these gaps to prepare us for what's ahead.  I believe that God never gives us more than we can handle (although it may feel like he does) He is preparing us for greater things! however; with greater things always comes greater responsibility. Therefore; we must have greater character and competence to withstand this responsibility of where he is taking us. God has to prepare us with a gap before he takes us to our next destination. WHY? you ask?  because once we get to the destination he has prepared for us, it is then to late to get ready.

At the end of this story David has to fight a giant, he picked up five stones and was prepared for battle.  He threw the first stone and the giant was laid to rest.  You see, David was able to handle this because while out tending to his fathers sheep he took down a lion with his bare hands to protect the flock.  In other words while tending to his herd he was being conditioned for defeating a giant. Like us, the obstacles that we may have faced were not meant for our agitation they were meant for our education.  The  hurdles that we have encountered in the past have prepared us on how to handle the larger ones in the future.1 Samuel 17 (the story of David and Goliath)

Sometimes we may feel lost and down right hopeless in our life but just remember this.  The difficulty that we are facing now, or the gaps that we may be in are only preparation for greater things to come.  Keep your eyes on the prize, keep your eyes on God.  Don't focus on the stumbling block and give adversaries your soul attention.  However;  focus on how God is preparing you for your destiny and how is he conditioning you for a future that is better than you could even imagine. Trust in him.