How We Can Successfully Wait on God’s Timing

Successfully waiting can seem impossible, not to mention excruciating! Oh, how we long to control the hands of time! At least I do anyway. Rarely does it feel like “timing” is just right. Some seasons of life take way too long while others go much too fast.

I have found if I am enduring a circumstance in my life or waiting for some desire, it takes forever! Yet, if I am relishing moments in time, they are fleeting. It is like the weather in north Florida; the hot days are endless while the cool days fly by like there’s no tomorrow.

Timing, therefore, is subjective. But there is one thing I have learned; God is in control of it and uses it for His glory and our good. I have seen evidence first hand of this glorious truth.

Why it’s good that we don’t control time.

As much as I wish I could control it, I am forced to admit I would abuse it; lengthening the easy seasons and shortening the difficult ones. This, in turn, would only bring harm to myself and others in my life because maturity would be difficult to come by. In my experience, waiting and enduring have precipitated great gain in my character and faith. I see this in the life of David as well.

What did David wait for?

In 2 Samuel 5:4 it says,

David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.

Thirty years of age does not sound old to become a king but when you keep in mind that David was anointed king as a teenager, then this seems like a long time. David waited roughly 15 years from the time he was chosen by God to succeed King Saul until he actually ascended the throne. Not to mention that while he “waited,” he was, in reality, being hunted!

Even as he became King, this was accomplished in stages. He did not claim the throne all at once. The people of Judah first crowned him King but it would take 7 1/2 more years until the rest of the tribes of Israel pledged their allegiance.

Not only the time it took for his anointing to become a reality, but the process of how it occurred impresses me. One of the many reasons I love David is how he exemplified patience and submission to God. He waited on God and did not initiate the fulfillment of God’s promise or will. You never see him trying to make it happen or force the issue. Even after King Saul was killed, David sat still. He exemplified successfully waiting upon the Lord and His timing to accomplish His will.

Why did he do this?

I think the priorities and convictions of David’s life give insight. I see two reasons explaining David successfully waiting upon the Lord’s timing and not taking matters into his own hands.

How was David able to wait well?

First, in Psalm 16:2, it reveals the driving priority and passion of David’s life. It is believed he wrote this Psalm soon after becoming King of all Israel. It says…

“I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’”

What a statement to be made by someone with a newly acquired kingdom! Although David was now the King of Israel with a kingdom in his possession, what he valued most was his God! That explains why  David was able to wait so well. He valued what he waited for less than who he waited upon. He prioritized God above all else in his life. That positioned him to be better equipped for the waiting game of life.

Secondly, Psalm 138:8 says,

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands.

David was confident that God was always in control of his life and times, regardless of how long some circumstances remained in limbo. David was able to wait upon God’s timing, not hastening his acquisition of the kingdom, because he rested in God’s sovereignty and trustworthiness. He knew that he did not need to make it happen because God was fully capable and faithful. This allowed David to trust and rest as he waited, knowing the hands of his God were in control of the hands of his time.

How can we wait well like David?

I long to be more like David; content and confident, as I wait for God’s purpose to be accomplished. Regretfully, squirming can be my norm…

But I am encouraged! By valuing the Lord more than what I wait for and trusting in His wisdom and ability, I too can cease struggling against time. I can learn to submit peacefully to what is beyond my control. Successfully waiting upon the Lord can become your and my reality as well!