Trust and Timing

If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. Now, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.
Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won't strike him twice."
But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord's annointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives," he said, "the Lord himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay hand on the Lord's annointed."
1 Samuel 26:7-11

This passage illustrates why David is called a man after God's own heart. Saul has demonstrated over and over again that he is David's enemy. He has hurled a spear at David and tried to pin him to a wall on multiple occasions. Saul has sent him into battle hoping he would die. He has ordered his son, David's best friend, to bring David to the king so that he could kill him. He has had eighty-five priests killed because one had the audacity to help David by giving him bread and a sword. He utilizes his tremendous army to try to hunt down David and his men. In the midst of these circumstances, David has the perfect opportunity to rid himself of his enemy.

David, however, doesn't take that opportunity. Why not? He has the assurance that God has chosen him to be the king of Israel. In fact, he had been annointed by Samuel years before. He has shown himself ready for the challenge by killing the Philistine giant Goliath when no other Israelite had the courage to do so. He has defeated the Philistines, Israel's great enemies, over and over again. When it is obvious that God has left Saul, "In everything [David] did he had great success, because the Lord was with him" (1 Samuel 18:14).

David had every earthly reason to take Saul's life. In fact, he wouldn't have even had to lift his sword against Saul; Abishai is eager for the job! David, however, has enough trust in God to leave the problem of Saul up to God. He reverences God and those whom God has annointed. He knows that one day he will be king, but he trusts God enough not to force his hand.

Can we say the same thing? I know that there have been many times that I have had little reason to initiate something, and yet I plunged in to attempt to speed up God's timetable. The results were not good.

The next time I am tempted to rush things along, I will remind myself how David trusted God and God's timing.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.