So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?" 1 Samuel 15:17

The moment King Saul got too big for his britches, God saw a king inside a shepherd boy's heart, named David. He was too insignificant to be called into his father's house when the prophet Samuel arrived to anoint a son to be the next king of Israel. Samuel, at first sight, missed the Lord's choice by outward appearances.

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord." 1 Samuel 16:6

If it wasn't for God telling Samuel "this is not the one," Samuel may have anointed the wrong son. The Scripture says that, Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The Lord has not chosen these." So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" 1 Samuel 16:10-11

In all of the excitement of seeing one of his sons anointed, Jesse forgets the shepherd boy out back tending sheep. Finally David is called into the house smelling like sheep, and a sweet fragrance is released as he is anointed in front of his seven envious older brothers. Later, David's insignificance in the eyes of the bear, the lion and the giant becomes his winning edge in the face of adversity.

David's life reminds me of another boy I met recently.

While speaking on childlike faith in Kansas, I noticed an eleven-year-old boy named Brody listening intently as if he were eating the message off everyone's plate. Two weeks later I received this update on Brody.

Brody went bow hunting with his cousin. While walking to their hunting place, Brody was thinking how difficult it would be to actually kill a deer. It was very windy and a boy of Brody's size doesn't have the strength to pull a powerful bow. He told his mother later that while having these thoughts God told him he would get a deer. His mother asked him what God had said and Brody's reply was that God said, "Brody, I'm going to give you one of My animals today."

Shortly thereafter, Brody saw a doe 30 yards away (a difficult distance for Brody and his bow). He shot and saw that the arrow would miss its mark, but at the last moment a strong wind hit the arrow and sent it into the animal's heart. A perfect shot.

When I heard this testimony I couldn't help but think how many of us are experiencing strong winds of adversity that leave us powerless and insignificant from pursuing our purposes and dreams. But then, in the Spirit, I saw these same strong winds actually blowing many in the direction God intends them to go. These adverse winds had become friends to many, driving them into their God-appointed destination.

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

There are times when I feel so insignificant. Am I making any difference in this world that is falling apart at the seams? I am noticing a pattern that weaves throughout my life. After seasons of living in obscure insignificance, something happens that thrusts me to higher, more noble places. And I discover from this notable place that God had been using me all along, perhaps even more in those seasons when I felt like quitting.

You Are Only Seeing the Tip of the Iceberg of How God is Using You!

I see a tip of the iceberg of the Kingdom of Heaven. Ten percent of an iceberg is seen and ninety percent is under water and invisible to the natural eye. It's the ninety percent that is the most powerful. The ninety percent of God's Kingdom is now moving beneath the dark waters of the earth. You won't hear this by watching or listening to the news. You will see this by focusing on the Lord. Many feel like you are not being the light you should be. But you are only seeing about 10 percent of how God is using you. There is ninety percent of your light shining, touching people's lives in ways you aren't seeing right now. God is using you greatly.

Many are not only seeing the tip of the iceberg of evil in the world but are focusing and being mesmerized by the ninety percent that's underneath it. But evil of Titanic proportion is about to clash into the tip of the iceberg of the Kingdom of Heaven and there will be a crying out from the lost as with the Titanic, causing many to come to you from the ten percent of your light shining. You will discover that God has been using you all along in many people's lives and you just didn't know it.

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Isaiah 60:3

Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministries