I’ve been thinking about fulfilling your calling for some time, and I’ve been seeing a lot of it in the life of David, who has one of the most drawn out examples of fulfilling calling in the Bible. David was called (well, anointed) to be king, but he doesn’t seem to fulfill his calling for a long time.
David probably though he would be a shepherd his whole life until Samuel anointed him (1 Samuel 16), and right after that, David went to the palace to play the harp for King Saul, who would be his future rival to the throne. David later gained Israel’s admiration and respect for killing Goliath and leading Israel’s armies to victory (1 Samuel 18), but didn’t use his newfound popularity to overthrow Saul.
Saul, however, believed that David’s popularity would jeopardize his rule, and David subsequently spent most of this period in his life writing psalms while on the run from Saul. Even after Saul died, David still had to retake Israel to become king. In the end, 169 chapters after he was anointed, David became king over Israel, finally fulfilling his calling.
But did David only fulfill his calling when he became king?
I think he was fulfilling it his whole life, even before Samuel anointed him.
David’s shepherding and harp playing set him up to be in the king’s court and kill Goliath. David’s time as a soldier and captain prepared him to strategically plan and execute battles as well as oversee an army, and living in the palace (probably) showed him how the court worked. Being on the run trained David to make tough decisions under stress, and most importantly, writing Psalms helped David draw closer to God. A king has a lot of roles, and David had many of them before he ever ruled Israel.
Throughout all the twists and turns of David’s life, his calling never changed, and neither does ours.
We may not know our calling, but when God calls us to something, no matter what it is, He will provide us with the means to fulfill it.