When the Field is Yours

Introduction

I’ve never been the type of person who needs to be upfront.

If you looked over every job I’ve held—from my teenage years until now—you’d find a pattern: I’ve always worked in roles that seemed insignificant... until they weren’t.

My first job was as a paperboy, delivering newspapers to about 100 houses every summer morning. Most people didn’t notice me. I’d sometimes see old papers piled up on porches, untouched. But let me tell you something—if that Sunday paper didn’t show up, my boss was getting a phone call. And I made sure he never had to.

Later, I worked as a stock clerk at a department store. My job was to keep the shelves full. Truth be told, for the first five hours of the shift, nobody cared what we did. My coworker and I would race pallet jacks and build ridiculously balanced walls of boxes in the stockroom. But when closing time came around, every shelf had to be ready for the next business day. And it was.

Then I became a Soldier. I didn’t serve on the frontlines like an infantryman. I wasn’t a pilot. I wasn’t a medic. I worked in supply and warehousing—making sure the supply chain kept moving. Because if it didn’t, lives were at stake.

Even now, I serve as a contractor and analyst, working behind the scenes—no spotlight, but still essential.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

There’s something sacred about being overlooked. There’s something powerful about being trusted with work that doesn’t make headlines, but holds the whole thing together.

That’s why the Prayer of Jabez became such a phenomenon years ago. It wasn’t a full chapter. It wasn’t even a full paragraph. Just two verses tucked away in a list of names—1 Chronicles 4:9–10.

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory…”

People connected with this verse not because of its size, but because it reminded us that God often hides the most life-changing truths in the most unlikely places.

That’s what I believe will happen today.

Because tucked near the end of 2 Samuel lies a small story—so quiet, so easily missed—that many of us have skipped right past it. Just two verses. That’s it.

But within those two verses is a word that could reshape everything you believe about who you are and what God has called you to do.

Whether you’re a husband or a wife, a minister or a mechanic, an employee grinding through the week, a student trying to find your place, a leader in your community, or just a person trying to live right in a world that feels upside down…

This story speaks. It speaks to your calling. It speaks to your worth. It speaks to your faithfulness—and reminds you that even when the world overlooks you, God never does.

It’s the story of a man named Shammah.

He didn’t preach to nations. He didn’t build a temple. He didn’t command an army. He simply stood in a field—a field full of lentils—when everyone else ran. And in that quiet moment of courage, God brought about a great victory.

Today’s message is called: “When the Field is Yours.”

Because I believe that when God assigns you something—no matter how small it seems—you have a divine responsibility to stand your ground.

This word is for people who continues to be faithful, even when it feels thankless. For people who are tired, but haven’t quit. For those who are done waiting for validation and applause and wants to start living with conviction.

Let’s talk about what it means to have the courage to continue—when the field is yours.

[OPENING PRAYER]

Who is Shammah?

You’ll probably never find this Soldiers name in any children’s Bible storybook.

The Bible doesn’t record him walking on water, like Peter and Jesus

We don’t find him with Moses parting the Red Sea

And although he’s linked to David, he isn’t mentioned slaying giants.

But what he did do was worth mentioning in the scriptures because it changed everything in a moment where everyone else ran.

Have you done something thinking everyone was behind you, just to turn around to find no one there?

Shammah! meaning “waste” or “desolation” in the Hebrew language; a name that suggest insignificance or emptiness, but God flipped the meaning through his life.

a man most people have never heard of, but one whose courage speaks louder than anyone with a microphone!

He stood his ground in a field that looked like it wasn’t worth fighting for… and God used that stand to bring about a great victory. Shammah wasn’t wasted - he became a vessel of victory!

The Field May Look Small, But it Belongs to God

TRANSITION: (ooooo)

The Scripture says Shammah in a lentil field.

Not a battlefield with thousands of soldiers with him.

Not a city gate preventing the enemy from trespassing.

Not the Temple!

It was just a field of beans.

To the world, it looked small. But to Shammah, it was worth fighting for.

Can I tell the truth?

Most of us in here know about making the most out of what the world calls "small."

Maybe, just maybe your grandparents were like mine and took small kitchens to fed whole neighborhoods.

Maybe your ancestors are like mine and took scraps and turned them into food for the soul like banan peze and soup joumou.

Our mothers and fathers accepted underfunded schools and raised scholars.

Just because it looks small to others doesn’t mean God didn’t put His hand on it.

Your field might be your family, your corner store, your classroom, your nonprofit, your front porch ministry, or your name on the PTA list.

What ever it is…. don’t let the enemy convince you it doesn’t matter.

If God gave it to you, it’s holy ground.

so take your shoes off and STAND!!!