[Life of David] From Shepherd to King Sample

Wait

Have you had to wait for a package or a bus to arrive? When you are expecting to receive something, or you are waiting for something to happen, every minute seems like an hour. Sometimes you get stressed. If the wait extends for too long, you could even give up.

King David is a good example of this. He waited for more than 10 years to see God’s plans unfold, and once he became a king, he didn’t arrive in Jerusalem immediately. He waited seven and a half years as king of the tribe of Judah in Hebron before he marched to Jerusalem as king of all Israel. Why did God take so much time to make David king? He had to test his obedience. He had to prepare him. When David arrived at Hebron, he didn’t complain; he wasn’t anxious—he was learning to wait on God.

A fast rise can be dangerous. That is why God had David at a different pace. While he was being chased by Saul for 10 years it was as if God were saying, “You’re going to have to trust me through all of this because I am getting you ready to shepherd an entire nation. You don’t want to rise fast and crash hard.”

King Saul was the people’s choice, but David was God’s choice. Saul had everything going for him and he crashed and burned in the end. David had a lot of problems as well and made his share of mistakes. Nevertheless, God took him from being a shepherd to leading an entire nation, as a shepherd who moved along with the people instead of driving them and pressuring them as if they were livestock. At 37, David learned that the humbleness of Hebron was preparing him for success in Zion.

If you want to be a godly leader, be careful what you wish for. Times of waiting are never random; in God’s plan, they are purposeful in preparing you. But we don’t like to wait. Waiting for God’s plan is a continual learning process where being humble is required. You need to be able to say, like David, “Lord, I seek to please you, not to build my kingdom.” as David. That attitude of learning to be humble and to wait on Him trustfully allows God to prepare you for His purposes.