This week I start a 2 week series on being overlooked and underutilized. This is something I’ve learned and continue to learn in life. Hopefully you’ll get something out of it as well!

Feeling left out is the worst.

Getting skipped. Being the last person picked for dodgeball. Not getting invited to a party. Being overlooked is awful, being underutilized is even worse.

1 Samuel 16:13 NKJV
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

David was babysitting sheep on the backside of a mountain when the prophet was looking to anoint the next king of Israel. Opportunists would say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But God knew he was in the right place at the right time. Sometimes we feel like we’ve been overlooked and underutilized in life. We feel maybe we have so much more to offer, we have this gift or talent that’s just bursting inside of us but the people who can make a way for you to use that gift just don’t care.

I remember when I was overlooked and underutilized. It happened to me on a few different occasions. As I was getting really good at graphic design on staff at this church I was serving in, I noticed that I was being utilized more and more in the creative department rather than the preaching department which is what I was passionate about. I didn’t care about being good as a graphic designer, I cared about preaching. But the more I pursued opportunities to preach the more the doors shut. God was working in me a gift that I needed to honed and utilized.

Another time I was on staff at this really large church and there were more opportunities for me to lead and preach. I was working as a graphic designer and desperately wanted to get out from behind the desk and be in front of the people, preaching. So there was this opportunity that arose maybe leading an entire ministry, lots of people one of the largest ministries of the church. I meet with the pastor, there’s some talk of maybe possibly, time goes by and I don’t hear anything except that they hired a guy for the position.

So time goes on and my direct report is moving into another area of ministry. So I’m thinking here’s my time, my time to lead an entire ministry and show these folks I know what’s up. I have talks with leadership, again a possibly, maybe… a few more weeks go by and they hire a guy with less experience and never been on a church staff before to be my boss. Again overlooked and underutilized.

Looking back now, if I had actually gotten any of those positions, I’d be stuck. I’d be stuck in an environment working for people that didn’t really even like me for people that I really didn’t even like either! So instead of looking at those situations as rejection, we must look at them as preparation for God’s great plan for our lives.

I’ve actually cherished the times of preparation because a designer I get to craft and create things the way I see them in my head rather than trying to communicate them to another designer. I’ve looked at these seasons as training for reigning! Even now I’m in a season where I am being prepared for leadership that will be even greater than any other season I’ve ever experienced. You must understand that God has us where He wants us, because the moment we say we are submitted to His plan is the moment we must become submitted to the process of His plan!

With every plan comes a process of preparation. Don’t get frustrated but instead rejoice in the fact that God is preparing you for greatness! We can experience the miraculous in the mundane!

[divider style=”1″ align=”center” size=”normal” variant=”normal” dimension=”1px” color=”” scrolltext=””][/divider]

Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!