Faithfully, Patiently Waiting

Then the men of Judah came to David and anointed him king over the people of Judah. When David heard that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul, he sent them this message: "May the LORD bless you for being so loyal to your master Saul and giving him a decent burial. May the LORD be loyal to you in return and reward you with His unfailing love! And I, too, will reward you for what you have done. Now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king." (2 Samuel 2:4-7 NLT)

Saul, the king of all Israel, has now passed away.  David has already been anointed king by the prophet, Samuel.  Now he needs to be confirmed by the people as their king.  Judah, the southern tribe(s), has now confirmed David as their king.  The rest of Israel needs to respond.

But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul' army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul's son Ishbosheth. There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel. Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the people of Judah remained loyal to David. (2 Samuel 2:8-10 NLT)

David wouldn't be King of Israel...at least not yet.  He would need to wait for years before the rest of the Kingdom was under his command.  For now, David would need to wait.  How would he respond?  Would he be angry with the people of Israel for not acknowledging his God-ordained leadership role?  Would he get angry with God for not giving him what He had promised?  What would David do?

David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years. (2 Samuel 2:11 NLT)

Sometimes we just need to wait.  God has something more in store for us, but we really don't know what it will be.  David even knew what his future would be, but all the wishing in the world wouldn't make it happen faster.  He remained faithful to the part of God's plan he had to live out that day.  He ruled the southern kingdom faithfully while waiting for the rest.  No fighting. No worrying.  No complaining.

All too often we want God to fulfill His promises or work out the details of His Plan in our lives.  We want Him to do it right away.  We forget that part of His Plan includes our patient faithfulness.  He wants us to see that we can wait.  He wants us to see that we can overcome adversity.  He wants us to learn to enjoy the walk in all circumstances.  

Are you faithfully, patiently waiting?  Enjoy the walk while you wait.