“But so much of what is beautiful and valuable in the world comes from the shepherd, who has more strength and purpose than we ever imagine.”
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1 SAMUEL 17-18
LUKE 15:1-10
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
JOURNAL
The story of David has always stood out to me, but the more I sit with it, the more I realize it is not really about beating impossible odds. It is about alignment. David did not try to become someone else in order to face Goliath. He did not force himself into Saul’s armor or adopt a method that looked more acceptable or traditional. He simply leaned into who God made him to be.
There is something deeply freeing in that. David trusted that the way he had been shaped, the skills he had developed, and the instincts he carried were not accidents. They were given. And because of that, he could move forward with confidence, not arrogance, but clarity. He did not need to follow a prescribed path because he was already walking in the one designed for him.
It makes me think about how often I look for the “right” way to do something by measuring against others or defaulting to tradition. There is wisdom in learning from those who came before, but there is also a danger in assuming their path is meant to be mine. God’s work in each of us is personal. It is intentional. And it rarely fits neatly into a formula.
David’s courage was not rebellion for the sake of rebellion. It was obedience. That is the difference. He was not trying to prove a point or stand out. He was simply responding to what he knew God had placed inside of him. That kind of sensitivity only comes from time spent with God. It is formed in the quiet, in seeking, in listening, in learning to recognize His voice over the noise of expectation and comparison.
The same pattern shows up in the way God loves. The parable of the lost sheep does not follow logic that the world would applaud. It feels inefficient, even reckless, to leave the ninety-nine to go after one. But God is not operating on our metrics. He moves toward need, toward brokenness, toward the one who is willing to be found. His grace is not distributed based on fairness as we define it, but on love as He defines it.
That challenges me. It reminds me that walking with God is not about fitting into a system or earning a place. It is about staying close enough to Him that I can trust where He is leading, even when it does not make sense to anyone else.
There is a unique calling on my life, just as there was on David’s. Not louder, not more important, just specific. And the only way I will live that out is if I continue to seek God intentionally. Not occasionally, not when it is convenient, but consistently. Because without that connection, I will drift toward imitation, toward comfort, toward what is expected. But with Him, I can walk forward with confidence in the way I have been made, trusting that obedience will often look different than tradition, and that is exactly where I am meant to be.
