Have you ever looked at your life and tried to figure yourself out? I have taken spiritual gifts tests, personality profiles, asked other people how they would describe me, and spent a lot of time looking inward to see what I am good at, what I love to do, what I am bad at, and so on. There are a lot of things that I enjoy doing. There are definitely some things I hate doing. There are some things that I am good at and also some things I am no good at.
Knowing yourself is the first step to true greatness in your life. We are all created for a great calling by our God and I believe we have to look inward and upward to find our true God-calling.
When David was a young boy he went down to the front lines of a war to deliver some food to his brothers who were in the Israelite army. He refused to let the giant, Goliath, disrespect his God and informed King Saul that he would take care of Goliath. As an aside, sometimes our dreams seem ridiculous and crazy to those around us, but when we lean on God and pursue what he has truly gifted and called us to great things will happen. We all know the story of how David used a sling and a stone to defeat the giant and deliver his country from oppression from the Philistines.
What we don’t often remember is that King Saul initially dressed David out in his royal armor. King Saul was earlier described in 1 Samuel as a handsome man and one that stood head and shoulders over any other man in Israel. Clearly his strength and size were gifts that David did not have. When David tried on the king’s armor and helmet and carried his sword he quickly determined that he was not going to be able to move in this get-up and would be slowed down? David told Saul that he could not go in that armor and he took it off and put on his own clothes and took his staff, sling and five smooth stones to the lines of battle. What!?! David knew that he could not be someone else. He had to do things the way he was specifically gifted to do.
Personally, I would want to take as much protection as I could if I was facing Goliath. But David knew he could not be as effective as King Saul is in his own armor. The lesson for us is that we should not strive to be like those around us. We should not be jealous of the gifts that they have been given. We should strive to determine what God has blessed us to do and seek out ways to use our gifts in life.
So, do you know yourself? Do you know what you have been gifted to do? Are you doing good things or God things? Are you doing something that doesn’t fit you? Are you being weighed down by the expectations of others or by trying to do something that you aren’t gifted for? Seek God. Explore yourself. Find what you are called to do. Know yourself and do something great.