I was privileged to speak to a group of passionate young people a while ago.
It was a camp meeting and to say the atmosphere was supercharged would be an understatement. We had a really great time and I want to share a part of what I spoke about with you.
You can call them Keys to Transformation. I pitched my presentation against the backdrop of the inspiring story of David’s victory over Goliath and the Philistine army.
Through that single encounter, David’s life changed…forever. He changed from being a little-known shepherd boy to a well-known giant-slayer.
Here are a few things to take note of:
1. Tools
You need the right tools to fulfill your purpose in life.
A medical doctor has no need of a catapult.
A carpenter needs no stethoscopes.
A barber needs to syringes.
David understood that he couldn’t defeat Goliath by fighting him with his bare hands.
David knew he didn’t need Saul’s armor to defeat goliath either, so he used the tools he was skilful at using. He got hold of his sling and picked up stones along the way.
He knew he had the right tools.
Your tool might be your voice, your imagination, your intelligence or passion.
Find it and begin to use it.
2. Training
No matter how good your tools are, if you don’t have the right training, you’d still be ineffective.
Imagine a tractor-driver in the cockpit of a Boeing 737.
Imagine a chef trying to operate on a patient in a medical theatre. Even if he has the best tools, he’ll leave the patient in a worse state. He might just leave him in shreds.
David had been trained in the backside of the desert.
You have to train in obscurity so that you can be effective when you get your opportunity.
Whenever God lays a demand on you, remember, He is training you not draining you.
3. Test
Every test is an opportunity for you to become your best.
You can never be the best if you stay in your nest. If you will be the best, you have to pass the test.
David told Saul that he couldn’t use Saul’s armor because David hadn’t tested it. God tests you before He uses you. Every test reveals your strengths and weaknesses. David had defeated the lion and the bear before so when He faced Goliath, he had the confidence to speak against him and defeat him.
The next time you face a test, don’t run away from it. Pass the test.
4. Timing
If you want to be effective in life, you can’t just do anything at any time. You must understand timing.
David couldn’t have defeated Goliath if he had released the stone at just any time. He had to release it at the right time for it to hit the exact spot on Goliath’s forehead.
If you go too early, you might miss the moment. If you go too late, you might miss the moment too. You have to watch and wait and when you perceive the time is ripe, go get what’s yours. Waiting for the right time requires discipline but it always pays off.
5. Teamwork
I could spend whole day writing about teamwork.
John Maxwell says “Teamwork makes the dream work”.
Great things are birthed through agreement. No matter how potent a man is, he can’t have a baby all by himself. He needs a woman to team up with. David did not find anybody to team up with, so he teamed up with God and got the victory.
I know David didn’t win all by himself because when he released the stone into Goliath’s forehead, Goliath should have fallen on his back but he didn’t. He fell on his face. Someone must have pushed him from the back, you’d agree.
I strongly believe that as you apply some of the ideas I have shared in this post, that you will experience transformation in your life.
Damilola Oluwatoyinbo is a highly sought-after Speaker, Author, Trainer and Spiritual Shepherd. He has been seen by over 5 million people via various media channels. He empowers people from different walks of life through live presentations as well as the print and electronic media.His blog www.damioluwatoyinbo.com currently attracts thousands of readers from over sixty countries.
