[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Before God will use you (2)

Read: 1 Samuel 16: 1-23

Meditation verse:

“Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skilful in playing, a mighty man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him” (1 Samuel 16:18).

Preparation of Competence: Your competence will also need to be prepared. Every assignment requires a particular set of competencies and these need to be sharpened. Practice is the best way to sharpen a competence. Musical competence requires diligent practice. A warrior needs to develop fighting skills alongside courage. A preacher needs to immerse himself in scriptures to preach from it. A gifted speaker needs to practice. Even looking good requires effort. So, the period of preparation is a period for working at your competencies.

Before David began his reign as king, he had had enough practice and experience at developing the competencies he needed: He had mastered the act of shepherding, he had great courage and an ability to speak. When a particular skill- ‘playing the harp’ was required in the palace, David received an unsolicited nomination because his skills stood him out.

Several years ago, before I became aware of my assignment, I began to develop a deep hunger to acquire knowledge. I had no idea that God was preparing me for the assignment of building and equipping lives. God uses the competencies we learn: our degrees, our skills and everything else we have. He can take all of these and strategically position you in the place of your assignment. So,

whatever you are doing now, work at doing it better. You just might be in a season of preparation for your God-ordained purpose. God is a God of excellence, and He requires you to be excellent at whatever He has entrusted you with. Success is often said to be the meeting point of preparedness and opportunity.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

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