I went to a conference once and this young man spoke. He was advertised to come from a very well known church whose lead pastor I listen to often. I was excited to hear the young man speak but was quickly disappointed. Instead of being himself, the young man simply imitated the well known pastor. He began by reading a joke like the pastor starts off his sermons, his mannerisms were the same and then he proceeded to give a sermon that I had heard the well known pastor deliver.
God is not in the cloning business. He has individualized each of us. Think of it, he took time to make sure we each have individual fingerprints. Our DNA is uniquely ours. And our ministry to God is uniquely ours.
David understood this concept. Saul, David’s mentor and proven warrior, tried to outfit David for his battle against Goliath by putting his fighting gear on David. Saul reasoning was probably, “If it worked for me, it will work for David.” But David was uncomfortable in someone else’s garments. David had to be himself. David success came when he embraced his own unique style and obeyed the voice of the Lord.
Mentors in our lives are important. Spiritual mothers and fathers are valued in God’s kingdom. But God has not called us to replicate our mentors. We must minister out of our uniqueness. God doesn’t want another Billy Graham or
Joyce Meyer. He wants You.
So let us stop trying to clone ourselves in the likeness of others. David admired Saul. He respected Saul. But ultimately he realized he had to go into battle as David not as Saul. He realized, as we must, that God had uniquely equipped him for the battle he would face. So he took down Goliath using his unique weapons of warfare.
The battle you face is uniquely yours. But thanks be to God, He has uniquely equipped you to fight that battle. Embrace your gifts! Embrace your individuality! Embrace your uniqueness! You were called, you were designed to be the next YOU!
“Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. David said to Saul, “I can’t walk in these things, for I’m not used to them.” So David removed them. He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:38-40 NET
http://bible.com/107/1sa.17.38-40.net