He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants–God’s own people, Israel. He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands. Psalm 78:70–72 (NLT)
One of my favorite things is to hear rags-to-riches stories… not stories of men and women who literally went from homeless to living in a mansion, but those who did so spiritually.
Christian biographies are filled with stories of ordinary people who Jesus got ahold of and through them, inspired a generation through them. Charles Colson, D. L. Moody, and Joni Eareckson Tada were average folks–each with his and her own challenges–until Jesus got to them.
What happens to turn a man or woman around? A willingness to allow Jesus to enter and fill. With Jesus inside, all those who come in contact with them get the impression that Jesus is at work. Those who allow Jesus’ love in have the ability to love and care for others in remarkable ways.
Jesus raises men and women for His glory. At the end of his life David himself confessed the transformation: “These are the last words of David: ‘David, the son of Jesse, speaks–David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel.’” (2 Samuel 23:1 NLT). David knew who he was. He was a mere shepherd. God was the One Who raised him–not because of David’s choosing, but because of God’s.
Today you may feel completely ordinary, but what does Jesus see? Jesus is an expert at raising up those who bow down low to Him. Not so those men and women will get the glory, but because His children–His sheep–will have leaders whom they can look to, to offer them hands-and-feet love and care from our true Shepherd’s heart.
Faith Step: Check out a book from the library on a saint, and take note on how Jesus took that person from rags to riches, spiritually.
