Most likely, we will all find ourselves at one point or another waiting for a breakthrough. Waiting for a promotion. Waiting for a spouse (and then waiting ON your spouse!). Waiting to have children. Waiting for a healing. Waiting for understanding. Waiting to get into more meaningful work. Waiting for a broken relationship to heal. In sum, waiting for God to show up and give what He’s promised He would give. These times test our faith. Will we continue to knock like the persistent widow, or will we pull back and assume that God does not actually want to give what He said He would?
Most of us don’t like to wait for what we want. So how can we wait well? What can we do until the breakthrough comes? A look at the life of King David may help.
God promised David at a very young age that he would one day be king of Israel, at a time when King Saul was still on the throne. But David didn’t wear the crown until about 15 years later. And for most of that waiting time, he spent on the run from Saul.
Here’s 3 principles from his life to help us while we wait for our own promises to be fulfilled:
1. Make a difference in the meantime.
1 Samuel 22:1, 2 “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam…All those who were in distress or debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About 400 men were with him.”
While David is waiting for God to make him king, hiding out from Saul, about 400 disgruntled men gather to him. The Bible says they were “in distress or debt or discontented.” They don’t exactly sound like the kind of guys you would choose for your team. But David becomes their commander. They must have seen something in David that attracted them. Maybe it was just because he was on the run as they were. But David begins to lead them.
David had a noble heart and loved the Lord. He was faithful and brave and had already proved this in his youth, tending his father’s flocks and protecting them from wild animals. He was a good leader, but I’m sure the time spent directing these 400 disgruntled men was not always easy. Yet he continued on and in the end, some of these guys ended up becoming the infamous mighty men of the Old Testament, some legendary heroes who single-handedly killed hundreds of enemies and went on to command hundreds and thousands themselves.
David remained where God had him in the waiting time. He proved faithful to lead whom God gave him. He did not need the title of king to be a good leader. And he influenced those around him for good.
2. Remember the times God brought breakthrough before.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” Psalms 77:11-12
In times of waiting, it is so tempting to listen to and believe accusations against God’s character. This is the oldest trick in the book. Lies like these seem so appealing: God does not love us, God is not for us, God will not help us, God cannot lead us, God is holding out on us.
They are so easy to believe because in the waiting times, we do not YET have what has been promised. This is why it is so important to RECALL, to remember, what God has previously done in our lives. We must remember and meditate on previous answers to prayers, healing, provision, restoration, breakthroughs. We must tell our own souls (like David does in Psalm 63) to bless the Lord. This kind of praise takes our focus off of our own difficult circumstances and puts them back on God and his goodness and his ability. Eyes of faith see the invisible God in all things.
3. Don’t try to make the breakthrough happen on your own.
At two different points in David’s fugitive days, he is presented with the opportunity to kill King Saul himself. One time David and his men were hiding out in a cave and Saul comes into that very cave to relieve himself! David’s men even say in 1 Samuel 24:4, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for your to deal with as you wish.'”
But David knows in his heart that he is NOT meant to take matters into his own hands. He is supposed to wait for the Lord to deliver him and bring about the breakthrough. David was a great warrior. He could have easily taken Saul’s life. In fact, he cuts off a piece of Saul’s cloak but then feels guilty and confesses what he’s done.
It’s in time like this that I think the greatest temptation comes- when we are presented with a chance to change our circumstances by our own power and intelligence. Will we hold onto God’s promise and allow Him to do it His way and in His timing or will we take matters into our own hands and try to make it happen ourselves? We can shortchange ourselves by not waiting. We can stir up more trouble with DIY breakthroughs. We must listen to the Holy Spirit and our consciences in these moments and wait for God’s way. It will ALWAYS bring about the best results.
For those of you who don’t know how the story ends, Saul is eventually killed in battle, and David does eventually go onto become the greatest king that Israel ever had. And I wonder if those years in the wilderness were necessary to prepare David for all that would come.
So let’s encourage our hearts in the Lord today. He is good. His timing and ways are perfect and bring about the best results. He has helped us in the past, He will help us in the future, and He can use the present to bring about change in our lives and in others’ lives as well.
~Brooke
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