The Long Game of Glory

By Danny Saavedra

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.”—2 Samuel 7:11–17 (NIV)

Some things are worth waiting for. Think about the post-credit scenes in the Marvel universe. One little moment—Nick Fury saying “Avengers Initiative” or Thanos smirking at the camera—plants a seed that doesn’t pay off for years. Or consider how Star Wars teased the idea of Obi Wan’s pupil “Darth Vader” having betrayed and murdered Anakin Skywalker before we really understood the significance. That’s how storytellers work when they’re playing the long game—they drop hints that will only make sense later.

That’s what God does with David in today’s passage. God’s promises are incredible, but David won’t get to see them fulfilled in his lifetime. God’s covenant with David is filled with future tense: will raise up, will establish, will build, will be. David gets the promises, but not the fulfillment—a glimpse, but not the full picture. The same was true of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets in so many ways.

Now, in the immediate context, this is about Solomon. He’s the son who would take David’s throne, build the temple, and carry the mantle. But even Solomon’s glory had an expiration date. His throne didn’t last forever. His wisdom didn’t keep him from sin. The kingdom eventually split and fell. So, was God wrong?

Not even close.

This is what theologians call typology—when someone or something in the Old Testament serves as a shadow or preview of a greater reality fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord. Solomon was the shadow; Jesus is the substance! Solomon built a temple where God’s presence would dwell; Jesus IS the presence of God come to dwell with us! Solomon sat on the throne of Israel for a season; Jesus reigns forever in heaven. God’s promise was true, but it had a deeper, longer horizon than anyone could see at the time.

God even says, “I will be his father, and he will be my son.” That’s a direct messianic reference and Hebrews 1:5 confirms it. This promise was never just about an earthly king—it’s about the One David references in Psalm 24:10 (NIV): “Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.”

And here’s where it hits home for us: We live in this same tension as David—the tension between partial and complete fulfillment, between what is and what will be.

We’re citizens of a kingdom that’s already come . . . and is still coming. We’ve been given new life, but we still battle brokenness. We see Jesus clearly enough to follow Him, but not yet face-to-face. I love how Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:9–12 (NIV, emphasis added): “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. . . . For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

Like David, we’ve been given incredible promises—some of which have been fulfilled and some we’ll only see fulfilled in eternity. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 (NIV), “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all . . . what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” And in Romans 8:18 (NIV), we read, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

This is the long game of glory. Peter says it like this: “Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief . . . these have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith . . . may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6–7 NIV). Jesus will return. He will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). He will transform our broken bodies to be like His glorious one (Philippians 3:20–21). And until then, we wait. We trust. We look forward in hope.

God kept His promises to David—He always does. They were fulfilled in Christ. And He’ll keep His promises to you. Even when the timeline stretches beyond what we hoped, even when the waiting is hard, even when we don’t see the whole picture, God is faithful always. So, we can be sure that “no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV).

Pause: Where are you living in the tension between what God has promised and what you have yet to see? What might He be shaping in you while you wait?

Practice: Read Titus 2:11–13 (NIV) slowly today. Let its call to “wait for the blessed hope” reframe your perspective. Lean into the now so you can say “‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” and anchor your hope in the “not yet.”

Pray: Lord, thank You that Your promises are always true—even when I can’t yet see the fullness. Help me to wait well, to trust deeply, and to fix my eyes on Jesus, my forever King. In the matchless name of my King Jesus, I pray. Amen.