Before David was King of Israel, he was an intern–in a sense. David wasn’t appointed immediately after being anointed by God. God put a clear call on David’s life but didn’t make him chief right away. Interesting… Here are 3 Important Things that we can learn from David’s “internship”:

1. IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Pastorship is not a job; it’s a lifestyle. In the old testament, after Saul (king of Israel) disobeyed God, the prophet Samuel went to the house of a man named Jesse (David’s dad) looking for a new king, David wasn’t in his house when Samuel came. Why? He was tending to his flock. Samuel said, “Anoint him. This is the one.” Then, during that whole Goliath debacle, David was making trips to and fro his sheep, and when he knew he couldn’t keep going back and forth, he entrusted another to watch over his flock. There’s no way they could be left alone. He was DEDICATED to that herd. David’s anointing wasn’t for him. It was for those that he was called to shepherd. Whether you’re called to be a pastor vocationally or not, you are called to love the flock that you’re with, even if you’re only there for a few months (Paul anyone?).

2. IMPORTANT DISMANTLING: “Your calling” is not yours. It’s only yours in the sense that God has entrusted it to you. In every other sense, it’s His to own and run. He doesn’t need you to accomplish His purposes. However, God desires for you to be a part of what He is doing. What grace! So dismantle any of your own notions of pride or agenda coming into your internship. Even as a young teenager, David knew that his life was not about himself. Even after killing Goliath, the Shaq O’neal of the Philistines, David remained humble as he relentlessly served Saul. Treat your supervisor as such: with unrelenting service. Remember: God didn’t need David, but by grace anointed him as a doctor for an Israel that was sick. David let God call the shots, and God took down the giants.

3. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: If you don’t have patience, you’ll never be a doctor. We are all called to be doctors for His Kingdom. So pray for patience. It won’t be easy, but God wants build it into your character (it’s more permanent that way). David had to wait 15 years to be king after being anointed by the Lord, then another 7 years before he was made ruler over all of Israel. Much of that time he was hunted by king Saul whom he would replace. David knew he would be king, but refused to take matters into his own hands to expedite the process. Even after Saul was delivered into his hands (could’ve easily killed him during a serendipitous squat) twice, David chose to trust God’s timing. If David’s picture is in the dictionary, it’s next to his 22 year definition of patience. I doubt that you’ll have to wait 22 years for a job, or that your supervisor is trying to kill you, but even if said things are true: abide in grace.

Chance Espinoza is a worship intern with Saddeback Student Ministry’s Worship team.