David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem. (NIV)

I don't know if FOMO was a thing back in David's day, but if I was him, I sure would've had some. Can you imagine: you know that you have been anointed as the future King of Israel. Your family knows, too. But when it's time to go off to war - just about the kingliest thing you could do - where does dad stick you? Tending the sheep.  

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Maybe David trusted God more than I do, but I would've been very confused by this assignment. But what I love about Scripture is that it reminds us at every turn that God's ways are not our ways. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"

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See, ever since the chapter in which David is anointed king (Ch. 16), we see several ways in which human wisdom might assume David would ascend the throne:  

End of Chapter 16 - he gets the invite into the palace...but he's stuck serving Saul as a nobody harp player.  

Chapter 18 - he gets to marry Saul's daughter...but Saul decides he wants to kill him.  

Chapter 19 - he befriends Saul's heir, Jonathan, and has ample opportunity to kill him, removing his competition for the throne...but instead, they become best friends.  

And in this chapter - David finds himself on his way to a battle. Surely, he must have wondered if his kingly entrance was finally in sight! But alas, he is only the doordash guy! His dad sends him with food for his brothers (vs.17-18), and the future king faithfully goes on this mundane errand.  

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And yet, God's ways are higher. David's faithfulness in this mundane errand positions him to fight Goliath, taking another step toward God's calling on his life. Now, this big moment didn't immediately result in him becoming king, but what it did do was give David confidence in the Lord, notoriety among the people, and a wary respect from Saul. Even though this wasn't the moment it all actually began for David, this was a moment that God used to propel him another step forward on his journey. All because he was faithful to deliver some sandwiches to his bratty older brothers (honestly, see vs. 28).  

Know this for your own life today, too, my friend: God's ways are higher. When it seems like you're stuck in the hamster wheel or in the mundane, he may just be positioning you like he was David. What if the assignment you're seeing as only a mundane errand is what he is using to position you? Or, maybe you've had that big moment that made you feel like, man, I'm finally walking in my calling, only to have it seemingly stripped away and back to square one. God's ways are higher, and he may just be using that experience to line up what's next.  

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So, how do we wait well? Here's two questions I invite you to consider today if you find yourself feeling a bit of FOMO toward God in this season.  

1. How's my heart? David may have had some really human emotions about his assignment to wait, but what Scripture does reveal is that, in general, David waited really well. He faithfully trusted the Lord's timing and how God was choosing to use him in that moment as good, whether it was keeping sheep alive or running sandwiches, slaying bears to protect his little sheep or slaying giants to protect a nation. Whatever his audience, wherever his assignment, he walked in it with trust and faithfulness in God. Ask God to help you walk the same way today.

2. What if waiting is it? David could have wasted his life away in frustration, waiting to step into the call he knew was on his life. Instead, he rested in the place God had him for this time. He trusted that God would advance him when he saw fit. He was content to serve others from a place of humility, rather than grasping for the honor that had been spoken over him. Friend, what if waiting to step into your calling isn't really waiting at all? What if waiting is part of the calling? We see people all over Scripture who weather times of waiting: Joseph, David, Paul, and even Jesus, to name a few. What if today you saw the wait as an essential part of what God has called you to in this life, not a barrier to be overcome?  

Father God, help us to trust you today in every part of our lives, big and small! I pray for the one who feels forgotten. God, would you touch their hearts today with some special encouragement and remind them that you are with them and working as they wait. In Jesus’ name, amen.