David is one person that captivates my attention in the bible. He was known as a Man after God’s own heart. In spite of his weaknesses, he had such a special relationship with God. He was anointed King when he was 17 years old but was not crowned King till, he was 30 years old. He went back to tending his Father’s sheep after he was anointed king. He did not question God on why it took so long to fulfill the promise, he simply served faithfully wherever he was till God elevated him in due season.
I would often think to myself what a patient man David must have been to wait for the fulfillment of the promise. However, when you study his story its evident that he had such an intimate relationship with God, and he trusted him enough to know that whatever God had spoken over his life would be fulfilled no matter how long it took.
In this day & age where everything is just accessible at a click of a button, we have developed a culture of not having to wait around for anything as technology is so advanced. While this may be good it has also created a sense of entitlement amongst us expecting things to happen instantly according to our timelines and schedules. In the grand scheme of things, we tend to hold our heavenly Father to this standard, expecting our prayers to be answered instantly, expecting the promise to be fulfilled according to our timeline. When we don’t get the answers when we expect to, we start to question, doubt and even act out in frustration.
The reason we respond in this way is because we lack intimacy with God. Intimacy with him teaches us more about his character, strengthens our Faith and gives us the endurance and patience to trust him. Intimacy with him helps us understand that he never acts out of character. It shifts our focus to him rather than the answer. Habakkuk 2:3 tells us “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry”. This reassures us that our heavenly Father has set everything in its appointed time and promises that it will come to past.
I have slowly discovered in this season that he does not work according to our timelines and me expecting him to stem out of a place of pride expecting things to happen on my terms. I am learning that he sees things I don’t, and he is pruning me in the process. In the past year I have learnt to shift my focus from the answer to my prayers and place my focus on him and the fruit he is producing in me in this season. I understand now that only through the pruning will good fruit be produced, and I value the fruit more than the blessings I once sought. Mathew 7:18-20 tells us “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. I long more now to bear good fruit and cultivate a more meaningful relationship with Father because it is only through him that I would be empowered to produce good fruit.
I understand many of us have been in waiting seasons for what seems like a long time, and we may begin to wonder if God sees us. I would like to reassure you today that he does, and he is a good Father who only wants to give us the best. Fix your eyes on him and what he is producing in you in the waiting, more often than not this prepares us better to receive the blessing. He sees what we don’t, he knows that giving us something we are not ready to receive would only cause us to squander it. I guarantee you that you will walk out of the waiting a different person than the one who walked in.
Charles Spurgeon summed it up perfectly when he said,
“If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord's people have always been a waiting people.”