Core Scripture: “But David persisted. ‘I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,’ he said. ‘When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!’” (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

Message: Memories.  Memories have astronomical power.  They can remind you of so many things.  Failures.  Celebrations.  Times of joy.  Times of anguish.  Times you fell short, or times God carried you through the fire. 

This morning I was reminded not just once but twice how God has the power to use memories for our good.  I first read the scripture above in an FCA devotional, and then I digested the same message through the Wow God Stories podcast. 

Incredible how God gives you just what you need for inspiration at just the right time.

I think about David.  He was merely a scrawny teenage shepherd, but he pulled up a memory from his past to assure Saul that God had rescued him before, and He would do it again.  It reminds me of a time in my life when God started a new career for me.

I’d like to tell you a story.  But this story must be told in full, so I am going to chunk it up.  Piece by piece.  That way you can digest it slowly, savoring each bite. 

The year was 2000.  I had just graduated with an English degree, emphasizing in Creative Writing, from the University of Kansas in the summer of 1999, and I was waiting tables at a little restaurant called the Cast Iron Café.  Living with my folks to save money, I was networking and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

Nothing was happening.  One meeting completely blindsided me.  I met up with a connection my dad gave me in this fancy business office.  I brought in my writing portfolio, hoping to show this guy what I had to offer.  His smug smile told me he was not impressed, and after he sighed, he told me something I will never forget.

“Clint, I’d like to tell you that your s*&% don’t stink, but it does.”

I was crushed!  That guy had no clue how degrading it was for me to hear that.  I wept bitterly in the car ride home.  His ruthless words led me to almost give up on networking altogether.  I was lower than a slug in the ground, but that was when God started to move. 

Jake was my buddy at work.  He was few years my junior, but we had grown close waiting tables together.  He knew I was looking to start a new career, and one night he introduced me to his mom.  Marsha was part of the local school board.  Polished and professional, Marsha became that hope that I needed.

“Clint, you know there is a temporary position opening in my office for a young mother going on maternity leave.  Would you be interested in applying?”

Are you kidding me?  Sign me up!  I got the job.  It was a six-month internship from June through December.  Ten bucks an hour.  My first REAL job!  I had my own desk in an office and everything.  Man, I was so stoked to get started! 

And then reality set in.  I was the peon.  The guy that sealed and stamped envelopes.  The guy that shredded paper.  I mean, I got to do a little editing here and there, using my English degree, but I soon found out that this was not for me. 

It didn’t help that my boss was the female version of Bill Lumbergh from Office Space.  That movie had just come out, and when I waited tables on the weekends, Jake and I would trade one-liners from that cult classic that had us rolling with contagious laughter.

My boss would say stuff like, “Cliiiiint … What’s happening?  I am going to need you to get all those envelopes sealed, stamped, and addressed to all our business partners.  And I know the 4^th of July is a holiday for our office, but that doesn’t apply to you, so I am going to need you to come in and work the holiday.”

Hey, at least I don’t recall having to fill out any TPS reports.  Did you get the memo on that?  No, we did not celebrate Hawaiian shirt day, but that office experience was uh … yeah … not what I was looking for.  I needed an outlet.  An escape. 

I found that escape once a week on my lunch break when I got to meet up with Josh.  Josh was part of the Youth Friends program.  He was a second grader up the road, and each week I got to have lunch with him and enjoy recess with he and his friends.  Just to be a difference maker in his life.  A mentor.

Josh was victim to a rough home life.  His dad was absent.  His mom was an addict, in and out of jail, and he was raised by a strict grandmother that kept him on a short leash.  My job was basically to build a relationship with this kid and become the positive role model he desperately needed. 

God was weaving something into my life that would change me.  Forever.  Tune in next week to learn about how my relationship with Josh led me to realize a new passion, and how a wise colleague planted a seed that led me to a new career.   

Challenge: What is a current struggle that God has worked on in you before?  Maybe it is your career, like me.  Or it could be in a relationship He mended.  This could be in any facet of your life.  Reflect on how God moved.  And then KNOW that He is moving now.  Whether you feel it or not. 

Bible study: Read the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.  Journal about or discuss the following questions …

1. How did David garner the courage to face Goliath?
2. What was the difference between David’s courage and the Israelites fear in accepting Goliath’s challenge?
3. When David replies to Goliath’s taunts, who does he give credit to?  In whom does he trust?
4. How does this wisdom lead David to victory?
5. What is your Goliath in your life?
6. How will you use faith and hope in God to slay your Goliath?

Song application: “Yes He Can” by Cain (The music video shows powerful reminders of different ways God moves in our lives and is certainly worth a watch.)

Sometimes I wonder, is He faithful?
Does He see me in my trouble?
Does He understand?
Sometimes I question if He’s able
Can He rescue, can He save me
Again and again?

But when I look back

Did He move every mountain?
Did He part every sea?
Yes, He did
So yes, He can, oh
Did He defeat the darkness?
Did He deliver me?
Yes, He did
So yes, He can
Whoa, yes, He did
So yes, He can

Just for fun: The Lord gave me Office Space when I needed a laugh most, and I hope this clip brings you a smile as well.

Prayer: Lord, you are bigger than ANY of my problems.  Help me remember that every time I am discouraged.  Amen.