Content in the Field

Learning to Be Faithful Until God Calls Your Name

Can I tell you something?

I think some of us have been calling ourselves stuck when we are actually being prepared.

We have been looking at quiet seasons and assuming nothing is happening.

We have been looking at ordinary days and wondering if we are doing enough.

We have been looking at somebody else’s life and thinking, God, when is it going to be my turn?

And lately, as I have been thinking about downsizing, contentment, and learning to live a little lighter, I keep coming back to one thing:

Maybe the problem is not always where we are. Maybe the problem is that we have decided where we are is not enough.

Paul said:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”

— Philippians 4:11 NKJV

There is one word in that scripture that keeps getting my attention.

Learned.

Paul learned contentment.

It did not happen overnight.

It was not something he automatically knew how to do.

Life taught him.

Walking with God taught him.

Having plenty taught him.

Having less taught him.

Waiting taught him.

Hard seasons taught him.

And somewhere along the way Paul discovered that his peace could not continue being determined by what was happening around him.

That is the kind of freedom I want.

I do not want to spend my life believing I will finally be at peace when something else happens.

When I have more.

When I accomplish more.

When I get somewhere else.

When somebody recognizes me.

When the next door opens.

When life finally looks the way I thought it would look.

Because the truth is, there will always be another “when.”

And if I cannot learn contentment here, I will probably carry dissatisfaction with me there.

That thought brought me to David.

Before David was King David, he was simply the youngest son of Jesse out tending sheep around Bethlehem.

No crown.

No throne.

No army.

No crowd.

No announcement.

Just sheep.

In 1 Samuel 16, God sends Samuel to Jesse because He has chosen one of Jesse’s sons to become king.

Jesse brings his sons before Samuel.

One after another.

They look like possibilities.

They look strong.

They look impressive.

Samuel even sees Eliab and thinks surely he must be the one.

But God tells Samuel:

“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

— 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

Eventually Samuel asks Jesse if these are all his sons.

And Jesse basically says, Well, there is still the youngest one.

Where is David?

Tending sheep.

Now sit with that.

The prophet has come to the house because God is about to identify Israel’s future king…

and David is not even in the room.

Nobody thought to bring him in.

Nobody said, “Wait, we better get David.”

He was simply out doing what had been placed in his hands.

And I think there is something in that for us.

Because we have become so accustomed to believing that important things have to look important.

We think purpose must be visible.

We think calling must be impressive.

We think if God is doing something in our lives, surely somebody ought to notice.

Surely there should be movement.

Surely there should be an announcement.

Surely there should be something grand happening.

But David was tending sheep.

And God was preparing a king.

That changes things for me.

Because maybe what looks ordinary to us does not look ordinary to God.

David was learning responsibility in that field.

He was learning how to protect something entrusted to him.

He was developing courage.

He was learning how to worship God without an audience.

He was spending time in the presence of God.

Later, when David stood before Saul preparing to face Goliath, he talked about protecting his father’s sheep from the lion and the bear.

In other words, the field had been training him.

The place that looked insignificant was producing something he was going to need later.

Do not mistake your field for being forgotten.

You may be doing something right now that feels completely ordinary.

Going to work.

Taking care of your family.

Praying.

Learning.

Serving.

Healing.

Writing.

Studying.

Resting.

Starting over.

Maybe nobody is applauding.

Maybe nobody even understands what God has been doing in you.

And maybe you have started asking yourself:

Am I doing anything with my life?

Please be careful with that question.

Because you may be looking at sheep while God is looking at preparation.

You may be looking at isolation while God is building intimacy.

You may be looking at a slow season while God is strengthening your roots.

You may be looking at nothing while God is working on everything that will matter when He calls your name.

And this is where contentment gets real.

Can I be content in the field?

Can I be faithful when I am unseen?

Can I stop needing every season to prove something?

Can I stop thinking my life has to be grand in order for it to be meaningful?

Because God is not looking for grand from us.

He is God all by Himself.

He does not need us to make Him impressive.

He does not need a stage to prove His power.

He does not need our name to become great so His name can be great.

His name is already great.

The glory already belongs to Him.

What He asks from us is much simpler.

Faithfulness.

Humility.

Obedience.

A willing heart.

Sometimes I think we are exhausted because we are trying to give God something He never asked for.

We are trying to become impressive when He asked us to become obedient.

We are trying to be seen when He asked us to abide.

We are trying to make something happen when He asked us to tend the sheep.

And maybe downsizing goes this deep too.

Maybe we need to downsize our need for grandeur.

Downsize our need to be recognized.

Downsize our need to always know what comes next.

Downsize the pressure we put on ourselves to constantly produce something visible.

Maybe God is saying:

Can you just be faithful here?

There is another shepherd who makes this even more interesting.

Moses.

Exodus 3:1 tells us:

“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

— Exodus 3:1 NKJV

Moses was tending sheep too.

Think about where this man had come from.

Moses had known Pharaoh’s house.

He had known Egypt.

And now he is in the desert tending somebody else’s flock.

Talk about a downsize.

From palace life to sheep.

From Egypt to the wilderness.

From being surrounded by activity to being in a quiet desert.

And yet that desert was not empty.

Because God was there.

The burning bush appears.

God speaks.

And then:

“Moses, Moses!”

And Moses answers:

“Here I am.”

I love that.

David was tending sheep when God sent for him.

Moses was tending sheep when God called his name.

Neither man was standing on a platform saying, “God, I am ready for my big moment.”

They were living.

Working.

Tending what had been placed in front of them.

And God knew exactly where both of them were.

Maybe that is what somebody needs today.

God knows where you are.

You do not have to force your way into the room.

You do not have to manufacture an opportunity.

You do not have to compete with somebody else.

You do not have to panic because your life feels quiet.

God knows the field.

God knows the desert.

God knows your name.

When Samuel realized none of the sons standing before him were the one God had chosen, he told Jesse to send for David.

And I love what Samuel said:

“For we will not sit down till he comes here.”

— 1 Samuel 16:11 NKJV

Everybody had to wait for the one nobody thought to invite.

That will preach all by itself.

David did not have to fight his way into that room.

He did not have to send somebody a résumé.

He did not have to convince Samuel he was king material.

God had already chosen him.

When the time came, God knew where to find him.

Now here is where I think we have to ask ourselves a different question.

We spend so much time asking:

When is God going to call me?

Maybe the better question is:

When He calls, will I be ready?

Will I have learned what I needed to learn in the field?

Will I recognize His voice?

Will I still be humble?

Will I be willing to move?

Or will I hesitate because the assignment does not look grand enough?

Because sometimes I wonder if we are really waiting on God…

or if we are waiting on something impressive.

There is a difference.

We say, “God, use me.”

But sometimes what we really mean is:

Use me where people can see.

Use me somewhere important.

Use me in a way that makes sense to me.

Use me in a way I can tell everybody about.

And God may say:

Call that person.

Encourage them.

Pray.

Serve here.

Write this.

Help them.

Sit down for a while.

Be quiet.

Learn.

Tend the sheep.

And because it does not look grand, we assume it cannot be God.

But what if the smallest assignment is preparing you for something you cannot see yet?

What if the quiet season is not empty?

What if you are not stuck?

What if you are simply in the field?

John 15:4 says:

“Abide in Me, and I in you.”

Abide.

Stay.

Remain.

Be with Me.

That is difficult in a world obsessed with what is next.

We are always trying to go somewhere.

Build something.

Become something.

Accomplish something.

And sometimes God says:

Stay with Me.

Maybe your assignment in this season is simply to learn His presence.

To know His voice.

To become secure enough in Him that you no longer need everybody else to validate you.

To learn that your life still has value when nobody is watching.

That you are still fruitful when the fruit has not appeared above ground yet.

Roots grow in places nobody can see.

And so do people.

Maybe you are in a root season.

Don't dig yourself up because nothing is showing yet.

Let God work.

Let Him downsize the pressure.

Let Him downsize the comparison.

Let Him downsize your need for applause.

Let Him teach you contentment.

And when He comes calling, answer.

Not because the assignment is grand.

Not because it comes with a title.

Not because everybody will finally see you.

Answer because He called.

That is enough.

Tonyelle’s Take

Do not mistake the field for being forgotten.

Do not mistake the desert for being abandoned.

Do not mistake quiet for empty.

And do not mistake ordinary for insignificant.

David was tending sheep.

Moses was tending sheep.

And God knew exactly where both of them were.

So if your life feels a little quiet right now, maybe you do not need to panic.

Maybe you need to abide.

Maybe you need to tend what God has already placed in your hands.

Maybe this is where He is teaching you how to be content.

Because contentment does not mean you have stopped expecting God to move.

It means you have stopped demanding that He move before you allow yourself to have peace.

Tend the sheep.

Learn.

Worship.

Grow.

Be.

And trust that when God is ready for the next assignment, He knows exactly where to find you.

The question is not whether it will be grand.

The question is:

Will you be ready when He calls your name?

Let’s Pray About It

Father,

Teach me to be content where You have me.

Help me stop calling quiet seasons empty.

Help me stop calling preparation stuck.

Help me stop looking at somebody else’s assignment and overlooking what You have placed in my own hands.

If I am in the field, teach me to tend the sheep well.

If I am in the desert, teach me to hear Your voice.

If I am in an unseen season, remind me that I am never unseen by You.

Downsize my need for recognition.

Downsize comparison.

Downsize pressure.

Downsize my desire for everything to look grand.

Teach me to abide in You.

Teach me to worship without an audience.

Teach me to be faithful without applause.

And when You call my name, let my heart be ready to say:

Here I am.

Keep me humble enough to remember that whatever You choose to do through my life is not for my glory.

It belongs to You.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Maybe you are not behind.

Maybe you are not forgotten.

Maybe you are not doing “nothing.”

Maybe you are simply tending sheep.

And if that is where God has you today?

Tend them well.