5 growth lessons from the life of David

This Friday, I am bringing you one of my all-time favorite stories. The story of the King David in the Holy Bible. He had a Career that spanned from being a Logistics guy, Care giver, Manager, Shepherd, Warrior, Song writer, instrumentalists, Captain, King, Builder, Philanthropist… all through his lifetime.

Do you know that just looking at this kind of profile, it is quite easy to begin to think that where you are isn’t where you ought to be. No doubt, we all aspire to become better, do more and gain more.

But let’s flip this thought the other way round

This superstar David, though anointed King but yet served as a shepherd boy as his first career opportunity. In the place of shepherding, he learned how to fight the bear, lion, to protect the sheep from harm, he learned management skills, he learned how to play musical instruments.

Fast forward to when the then King, Saul needed someone to challenge the Nation’s enemy, Goliath, David’s shepherding skills came to play. He used his sling and stone to defeat Goliath.

When King Saul needed someone to play the musical instrument, David’s skillfulness in that area was recommended to the King. This time around, David came to the palace not as a warrior , but as a skilled instrumentalist. So while shepherding, David amassed skills that will thereafter bring him before the King and ultimately make him fulfil his purpose of being crowned King.

Here is the gist..

As we grow, we are going to have lots of life’s experiences, and hence we need to be patient with ourselves to become who we aspire to be. Where you are and what you are doing might not be the best of places you think you should be right now, but then, it offers a lot of opportunity to help you step into the next big place you desire.

So instead of complaining and feeling bad about your life, why not try doing the following:

1. Utilize the opportunities you have to learn as much as you can

2. Add to your existing skill set, learn new skills too

3. Be open to learning new things from where you are, do not keep a closed mind to learning

4. Appreciate your growth process and be patient with yourself

5. Honor and respect people genuinely, you never know who is watching