And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

2 Samuel 2:3-4

Recently, I quit my job of 11 years and became self-employed, using a combination of experiences from that and other jobs as well as the skills I’ve developed on the side to become a consultant and freelancer. This change represents years of preparing and months of planning and seems to be the perfect alignment of my talents and dreams.

In talking about this transition with friends and family, many have suggested that I should have done this years ago. It’s tempting to think I could have. But as I take inventory of my talents and circumstances, and remember how different this dream once looked, clearly now is the time. Not then.

My work transition reminds me of David, the man after God’s own heart, who first learned he was to be the next king of Israel while he was tending sheep. In hindsight, we find it easy to imagine David dreaming of being the king of Israel, and it’s obvious to us that his days leading and defending the flock were an obvious training ground.

But when God gave David a vision for leading Israel, David hadn’t killed Goliath yet, hadn’t befriended Jonathan, hadn’t “slain his ten thousands,” and hadn’t evaded the spear of Saul. At the time of that early call, David hadn’t yet married Michal, hadn’t led the mighty men of Israel, and hadn’t fled from Saul for years.

Had God allowed it, David could have become king of Israel long before Saul gave Michal to marry another man, before David acted insane at Abigail’s insistence, and before David spared the life of Saul on two separate occasions. God could have done that. Instead, David spent years in preparation and planning so when God gave the throne to the poet shepherd of Israel, he was ready.

Like David, our talents and dreams often share many intersections, but it can take years for them to become aligned in the ways God always intended. We can trust God’s timing for the perfect alignment.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How is the alignment of your talents and dreams the result of years of preparation and experience? If you feel frustrated by a lack of alignment, how are your circumstances preparing you to move into a season of fulfilling your dreams?

PRAYER: Dear Father, it’s tempting to look at our lives and want the timing of be different. We want to use our talents to fulfill our dreams now, not later. We feel like the years of waiting are wasted. Remind us that your timing will always bring the greatest alignment of our talents with our dreams. Amen.

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Aligning Talents with Dreams

This article is part of a series at The High Calling on Aligning Talents with Dreams. We’re talking about dreams—both big and small—that flow from an intimate relationship with God. And our talents? It’s the way God’s made us, though we may have to sharpen our raw talents into skills. Ideally, we’re equipped with talents to support the dream we’re given. But often, life’s timing isn’t perfect. Maybe we’re waiting to discover the dream, or maybe we’re waiting to develop the talent more fully. What’s it like when our talents and dreams converge? How can we get there? What can we do in-between, when we’re waiting? Join us as we discuss our God-given talents and dreams. Why not encourage others to join the conversation by sending these articles through email, social media or jumping into the comments at our website?

Featured image above by János Balázs. Used with Permission. Via Flickr.