If you’re like me, then waiting is hard for you. I’ve heard it said that waiting is the hardest part. I agree. Waiting is not easy. But…we all know that in life, we have to wait. We have to wait for summer if we’re in school. We have to wait for cookies if we’re going to enjoy our dinner :). We have to wait to drive until we reach a certain age and pass a certain test. We have to wait to retire. And on…And on. If we’re breathing, we’re waiting for something.
How do we redeem the wait?
I have a dear friend who has often said to me, “Drew…waiting time is not wasting time.” He will usually go on to use an acronym, W.A.I.T. (With Anticipation I Trust).
What’s my friend getting at?
Simple.
Trust.
Will I trust? Will you trust? Will you forgo…? Delay…? Will we have patience? Will we delay gratification?
King David lived this reality.
What can we learn about waiting from King David?
- Samuel, the prophet, pours oil over David, the shepherd boy’s head, and anoints him as King over Israel when he was around 12 years old (1 Samuel 16:13).
- David becomes king of Judah and shortly thereafter all of Israel when he is about 44 years old (2 Samuel 2:7).
- Approximately 32 years pass between David’s calling and the timing of its fulfillment. That’s more than three decades. Most of us get frazzled when our traffic light doesn’t turn green in the seconds we think it should.
Thirty some odd years David had to navigate a calling and a timing. A couple times he could have jumped the gun, but he didn’t.
WHY?
The answer to this question is the answer to how and why we should WAIT…
- David was a man after God’s heart…
- “…He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’” -Acts 13:22
- Thus, one has to be a person of God. This happens through a relationship with God, which happens by a genuine understanding and belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- As David waited, he wrote Psalms pouring out his heart to God…
- “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.” –Psalm 40:1-3
- Thus, as we wait, we pour our hearts out to God…this happens through prayer and journaling.
- David was revived by a relationship with God through His Word…
- “…This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me.” -Psalm 119:50
- Thus, we daily meditate upon God’s Word…this happens through a relationship, which is found through the daily investment of reading, studying, and applying God’s Word to everyday life.
May we be people who W.A.I.T patiently, and trust God completely. Amen and Amen.
— July 10, 2020