Level Up: A 7-Day Journey to Help You Advance in Your CallingSample

Acquire

Throughout our upward journey, we’ll need to acquire skills, knowledge, experiences, and character. Today, we’ll focus on skills. When I began my writing journey, I learned that when you discover your gift, you’ll move in the right direction. But when you develop your gift, you’ll rise in the right direction.

I believe the degree to which your gift is developed determines the extent to which you can be promoted. The moment I yielded to the promptings God gave me to write, I moved in the right direction (just like we saw with Moses yesterday). But when I began to develop my gift to write, I rose in the right direction, advancing in my calling.

Consider David. In 1 Samuel 16, we find the account of King Saul being tormented by an evil spirit. Desperate for relief, Saul orders one of his servants to seek a skilled musician who will play for him so he could be comforted. His servant responds, “I know someone. I’ve seen him myself: the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, an excellent musician . . .and God is with him” (1 Samuel 16:18 MSG).

I can imagine this scenario: Saul summons his servant to find a skilled musician to rock out for him. His servant, already having someone in mind, replies, “Oh, I know someone! No problem!” Immediately he thinks of David—the long-haired, bearded heartthrob with the skinny jeans, deep-V sheepskin tunic, and the recent winner of Israel’s Got Talent. I can just picture David taking center stage, hair blowing with the wind, and singing, “God Gave Rock and Roll to You!”

But in all seriousness, David wasn’t just a gifted musician; he was a skilled one. And because his gift was developed, room was made for him to advance in his calling. He leveled up—shifting from the pastures to the palace.

Could it be that many are not progressing in their calling due to undeveloped gifts? Could the degree to which our gifts are developed determine the extent to which we can be promoted?