Is that really a God-given opportunity?

The other day I was reading about David and one of the things that stood out

about this young man was his humility. You see David, the youngest son of Jesse, had been anointed King, instead of his older brothers.

Even though he had the anointing and spirit of God upon him as Israel’s new king, he didn’t let that get into his head. He still went out to take care of his father’s sheep, and served in the current king’s (Saul) service as a musician and armour–bearer.

He could have developed an attitude towards King Saul, after all God had rejected Saul and chosen him instead to be king. But David didn’t, he was excellent at all the tasks, big or small, that King Saul gave him. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 18:5 that, “ Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.”

In addition to this, he waited for a long time before he finally became king. Even when King Saul tried on numerous occasions to kill him, David resisted the urge to revenge and take over the throne. Instead He trusted that the same God who had anointed him would make him king at the right time, without him having to spill Saul’s blood.

One day after King Saul had been searching for him to kill, David found him and all his soldiers sleeping heavily in a cave. It seemed like a ‘God-given moment, the perfect opportunity to kill this man who had been hunting him for ages, and finally become king. But David refused, and even when one of his trusted soldiers, even offered to do it, David still refused. I must confess his actions must have looked silly to many of his friends and family members.

I wonder how many of us would feel so anointed yet trust God’s timing to bring about the right opportunities. Wouldn’t we be tempted to manipulate and scheme things to work out for us, especially when it seems God is taking too long?

That was what the nobleman Macbeth did in Shakespeare’s story of the same name. In his haste to fulfil the prophecy of being king, he murdered the current king and all who would oppose him. At the end, he and his conniving wife paid dearly for their crimes which were committed out of impatience.

It is truly difficult to be ready, anointed, blessed and yet have to wait for the right opportunity. It is very tempting to try to ‘help’ God speed up the process. But I have come to realise that when God seems to be taking ‘forever’ to grant us our heart’s desires, it is not because He is a sadist who delights in our misery.

On the contrary, God may be using the waiting period to teach us useful lessons which will come in handy when He gives us the opportunity we were looking for. When David was anointed king, he was only a boy, who had never fought in the army. Even when he went to defeat Goliath, he used his sling, which was what he had used to defend his father’s sheep from bears and lions. But as king over Israel, he would need to be able to command troops to fight against Israel’s many enemies. Guess where he learnt how to do this. Under King Saul. By being humble and patient, even though he was already anointed, he learned lessons that came in handy when he eventually became king.

The same thing is true about Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. Even though he had these great dreams of himself as a leader, he had to learn leadership skills first before being appointed.  He honed these skills in Potiphar’s house, and later on in prison. The experience/lessons he acquired in these difficult places prepared him to govern Egypt successfully, where he finally realised his dreams of leadership.

Perhaps your dream is for a spouse and you are tired of waiting for God to bring one your way. Or maybe you are looking for a better job, or for the gift of children, or for better business opportunities, etc, and somehow it seems trusting God for these things is counter-productive. Your friends who are not God-fearing appear to be more successful but you feel abandoned and unrewarded by God.

I urge you, don’t try to birth your dreams prematurely. Don’t try to do what feels or seems right to you. Don’t try to do what your friends or the society

would do, instead do what God tells you to. It may seem old fashioned and irrelevant to this generation, but God always knows best! Use this waiting period as an opportunity to learn useful lessons that will come in handy when your dreams finally come true.

Wait for God to bring dreams to pass. He knows what is best for you, and when it is right for you. Hold on to Him for strength to wait patiently with a good attitude and an excellent spirit. 

Waiting does not mean being grumpy or not doing anything or being sloppy. Be faithful and excellent with what you have at the moment, or at the place you are at the moment just like David and Joseph. Don’t wait for things to fall into place before you become excellent and faithful. Remember he/she who is faithful in little, will be faithful in much.

May God help us to wait patiently for the right opportunities, and still be excellent and faithful with our current situations, amen.

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