I was really struck by the story of David while reading in 1 & 2 Samuel recently. It’s wonderful for us to have stories that allow us to objectively see a lifelong documentation of the Lord’s sovereign plan being carried out in someone’s life. It really has given me so much assurance of two things that the Lord wants to lay deep in the hearts of all believers:
- He has a plan for our lives
- We must trust His timing
I find it so wonderful to know that the Lord has a perfect plan for our lives. Since the beginning of time, He has known His intentions for how our lives will unfold. We don’t have to figure it out on our own, or go randomly searching for our life’s course in this world like so many people do. Instead, we can look to the God of this universe, who holds everything in His hands. He already has the path marked out, we just have to listen to Him and follow Him obediently by faith.
The story of God’s plan in David’s life unfolds so clearly, and if we seek the Lord’s guidance properly through His Word and prayer, His plans for our lives can unfold just as clearly as we see it written in the pages of the Bible. Long before David knew anything of God’s plans for Him, the Lord was working to establish His plans and to eventually reveal them to David. He intended to end Saul’s reign and set David on the throne as king. As always, God was working behind the scenes, knowing the future before it was revealed to David: “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people.” 1 Samuel 13:14. Later, in chapter 16, David is anointed, likely as a teenager, but it is years before he actually takes the throne.
Timing is everything. That is such a common saying, and it is true and Biblical. The Lord sets plans and executes them according to very precise timing. One of the most important things we can learn as believers is to wait on the Lord. His plans and His timing are best. He always has reasons behind them. Sometimes His plans are revealed to us to be put into action immediately. But more commonly, we have to wait for Him to reveal His plans and shouldn’t make any hasty decisions, or feel anxious in the waiting process.
One of the most obvious reasons for making us wait is the preparation He needs to do in order to bring His plans into action. He is working all around us, aligning things out of our control; but He is also using that time to change us, mold us, and prepare us for His plans. God started working in David as a boy, and was with him in his days as a shepherd. When he slew a bear and a lion, the Lord intended it to be preparation to fight Goliath, in addition to many more future battles. The Lord hones both natural and spiritual gifts, traits, strengths and characteristics within us. Not only was the Lord preparing David to conquer fear and to become a strong and mighty warrior, but He was most importantly teaching him to grow in his faith, to gain courage from the Lord, to love and trust Him above all else, and to seek His wisdom and guidance in all things.
After being anointed, and then fighting Goliath, there were still many more years before the Lord put His plan in place. During that time, David had to continue to wait on the Lord, trusting that He would execute His plan when the time was right. God continued to prepare him in strength and skill through many battles, but more importantly, to teach David to lean on Him and seek His guidance to give him victory. As He often does, God used adversity in David’s life to strengthen his faith, and continued to help and mold him during the incredibly difficult years he spent fleeing from danger as Saul sought to kill him. There was more spiritual growth and guidance from the Lord in those years of David’s life than we could ever know (although we do get an idea of it by reading the Psalms that were written by David, and can see why the Lord would allow that period in David’s life as it strengthened his relationship with Him and yielded some of the most sought after Scriptures in the Bible.)
Day after day, year after year, the Lord was with David and preparing him for his future. We find in 2 Samuel 5:4 that David was thirty-years-old when he began to reign. But his waiting still wasn’t quite over: it wasn’t until 7 ½ years into his reign over Judah that he began to reign over all Israel! The Lord knew His intended timing. He knew how and when things would unfold. He always does. It is no different for us. He is working things out in each of our lives behind the scenes. He wants us to seek Him so He can show us the plans He has for each of us. He wants to help us, guide us and protect us. He always wants what is best for us. And He will execute His plans and reveal them to us with perfect, precise timing. He never makes a mistake, never forgets something, or has to say, “Oops, that’s not how I planned for it to go”. If you are obedient to Him, everything will work out just as God intends, and that should be the goal for each of us.
Take courage knowing He is in control of everything in your life. If you are uncertain of the Lord’s plans for you, or find the waiting discouraging, may you instead find hope, strength and reassurance that God is working everything out. Pray to the Lord for His clear guidance. Ask Him to clearly show you what to do according to His will. Pray for obedience to carry out His intended plans for you, and to follow Him wherever He may lead you. He loves us more than we will ever know, and His desire is to be with us every step of the way as we navigate life.