{Timing is everything}
If there is any person in Scripture who knows a thing or two about waiting, it is King David. As a teenager, David received a promise that he would be the next king over Israel. But it would be nearly two decades before that promise was fulfilled. Did God lie? Did God forget? No! God had a definite purpose in the wait.
"When Saul came back after dealing with the Philistines, he was told, "David is now in the wilderness of En Gedi." Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks. He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave. David's men whispered to him, "Can you believe it? This is the day God was talking about when he said, 'I'll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.'" Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul's royal robe.
Immediately, he felt guilty. He said to his men, "God forbid that I should have done this to my master, God's anointed, that I should so much as raise a finger against him. He's God's anointed!" David held his men in check with these words and wouldn't let them pounce on Saul. Saul got up, left the cave, and went on down the road.
Then David stood at the mouth of the cave and called to Saul, "My master!My king!" Saul looked back. David fell to his knees and bowed in reverence. He called out, "Why do you listen to those who say 'David is out to get you'? This very day with your very own eyes you have seen that just now in the cave God put you in my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I wouldn't do it. I told them that I won't lift a finger against my master—he's God's anointed. Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn't. Look at the evidence! I'm not against you. I'm no rebel. I haven't sinned against you, and yet you're hunting me down to kill me. Let's decide which of us is in the right. God may avenge me, but it is in his hands, not mine." 1 Sam 24:1-12
David stares manipulation straight in the eye and says no. In that moment he chooses to trust God, to wait upon the Lord, and let God be God and decide when and how his desire to be king would be fulfilled. And in his right response he proves he is after all a "man after God's own heart."
When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, "Can this be the voice of my son David?" and he wept in loud sobs. "You're the one in the right, not me," he continued. "You've heaped good on me; I've dumped evil on you. And now you've done it again—treated me generously. God put me in your hands and you didn't kill me. Why? When a man meets his enemy, does he send him down the road with a blessing? May God give you a bonus of blessings for what you've done for me today! I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king. The kingdom of Israel is already in your grasp! (1 Sam 24:16-20)
Like David. we will all face many too-good-to-be-true opportunities while waiting in the wilderness of unmet desires. My suggestion is: before acting on any impulses, check with God. Read His Word. Go to Him in prayer and ask Him if your plan is His plan. If your plan contradicts God's revealed will (e.g. murder, manipulation, or misappropriation of funds), then we can be pretty certain that God is not the one leading you to act.
The question is not if we are waiting, but how we are waiting. The Bible tells us in Psalm 37,in short, to CHILL OUT! God is still running the universe, He knows what He is doing and He doesn't need our help. So what do we do when we find ourselves in a wilderness of waiting? Rest and wait. I like the simplicity of that. We can relax because God is not confused of frazzled about how His plan for our lives will be accomplished.
I think of a story Ben Stuart shared about when we took a group of student to Venezuela. When he got there their guide left them and so there he was having to be calm,collected, cool youth pastor when inside he was FREAKING OUT! He went off to the side to "figure things out for a minute" and starting praying...in the midst of praying he stopped as he heard himself say, "God." Ben said "at that moment it clicked;Lord, this is not your first time to Venezuela . You created Venezuela." Ben said after that moment he just had peace that everything is was going to be Okay. The same is true for us. God knows exactly what we are feeling. Whatever we are facing or waiting on it is not news to God. He is in complete control. I love when the Lord is in no suddle way is trying to get a point across to me. Last week I would say 3 or 4 different times I either got a text, read something that said :"God's timing is ALWAYS perfect." And, the word always was ALWAYS capitalized. While His way may not align with my way or come to pass on my timetable, I can cease fretting because I know God is good. I know he is in control. And most important, I know I can trust Him.
Resourse: Wilderness Skills for Women- by Marian Jordan
"When Saul came back after dealing with the Philistines, he was told, "David is now in the wilderness of En Gedi." Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks. He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave. David's men whispered to him, "Can you believe it? This is the day God was talking about when he said, 'I'll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.'" Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul's royal robe.
Immediately, he felt guilty. He said to his men, "God forbid that I should have done this to my master, God's anointed, that I should so much as raise a finger against him. He's God's anointed!" David held his men in check with these words and wouldn't let them pounce on Saul. Saul got up, left the cave, and went on down the road.
Then David stood at the mouth of the cave and called to Saul, "My master!My king!" Saul looked back. David fell to his knees and bowed in reverence. He called out, "Why do you listen to those who say 'David is out to get you'? This very day with your very own eyes you have seen that just now in the cave God put you in my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I wouldn't do it. I told them that I won't lift a finger against my master—he's God's anointed. Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn't. Look at the evidence! I'm not against you. I'm no rebel. I haven't sinned against you, and yet you're hunting me down to kill me. Let's decide which of us is in the right. God may avenge me, but it is in his hands, not mine." 1 Sam 24:1-12
David stares manipulation straight in the eye and says no. In that moment he chooses to trust God, to wait upon the Lord, and let God be God and decide when and how his desire to be king would be fulfilled. And in his right response he proves he is after all a "man after God's own heart."
When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, "Can this be the voice of my son David?" and he wept in loud sobs. "You're the one in the right, not me," he continued. "You've heaped good on me; I've dumped evil on you. And now you've done it again—treated me generously. God put me in your hands and you didn't kill me. Why? When a man meets his enemy, does he send him down the road with a blessing? May God give you a bonus of blessings for what you've done for me today! I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king. The kingdom of Israel is already in your grasp! (1 Sam 24:16-20)
Like David. we will all face many too-good-to-be-true opportunities while waiting in the wilderness of unmet desires. My suggestion is: before acting on any impulses, check with God. Read His Word. Go to Him in prayer and ask Him if your plan is His plan. If your plan contradicts God's revealed will (e.g. murder, manipulation, or misappropriation of funds), then we can be pretty certain that God is not the one leading you to act.
The question is not if we are waiting, but how we are waiting. The Bible tells us in Psalm 37,in short, to CHILL OUT! God is still running the universe, He knows what He is doing and He doesn't need our help. So what do we do when we find ourselves in a wilderness of waiting? Rest and wait. I like the simplicity of that. We can relax because God is not confused of frazzled about how His plan for our lives will be accomplished.
I think of a story Ben Stuart shared about when we took a group of student to Venezuela. When he got there their guide left them and so there he was having to be calm,collected, cool youth pastor when inside he was FREAKING OUT! He went off to the side to "figure things out for a minute" and starting praying...in the midst of praying he stopped as he heard himself say, "God." Ben said "at that moment it clicked;Lord, this is not your first time to Venezuela . You created Venezuela." Ben said after that moment he just had peace that everything is was going to be Okay. The same is true for us. God knows exactly what we are feeling. Whatever we are facing or waiting on it is not news to God. He is in complete control. I love when the Lord is in no suddle way is trying to get a point across to me. Last week I would say 3 or 4 different times I either got a text, read something that said :"God's timing is ALWAYS perfect." And, the word always was ALWAYS capitalized. While His way may not align with my way or come to pass on my timetable, I can cease fretting because I know God is good. I know he is in control. And most important, I know I can trust Him.
Resourse: Wilderness Skills for Women- by Marian Jordan
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