Waiting Time Isn't Wasted Time

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

2 Samuel 5:4 NIV

How about a little old-fashioned Bible study today? Grab your Bible and find 2 Samuel, chapter five. I love all those amazing Old Testament stories, don’t you? Let’s peek into the life of David and see what lessons we can apply to our own lives.

In preceding chapters, we learn that David was only a boy when he was first brought into the palace by King Saul to serve as his armor bearer and private harpist (1 Samuel 16:21–23). Many Bible scholars believe he was around fifteen years old when he defeated Goliath. Saul, out of jealousy, soon rejected David’s service and decided to kill him (1 Samuel 19:1). The Spirit of God left Saul and entered David as the teen ran for his life (1 Samuel 16:13–14). The prophet Samuel disclosed to David that God had anointed him to be the next king, but they kept it their little secret. Saul had his suspicions, though, because he chased David all over the countryside for an undisclosed number of years, beginning in 1 Samuel 21 until Saul’s death at the end of chapter 31.

Then followed a seven-year civil war between the house of Saul and the house of David before Samuel officially crowned David King of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3). Did you catch that there was a fifteen-year gap between the time David knew he would be king and when he actually became king? He knew at fifteen years of age but had to wait until he was thirty to begin serving the Lord in his preordained destiny.

Yikes! Who wants to wait that long for anything? Not me. Not you. And probably not David, either. But evidently, waiting is included in Papa God’s plan for us. Thankfully, waiting time isn’t wasted time. David used those fifteen years to hone his skills as a warrior and leader, building the respect and loyalty of his countrymen. His kingdom was more powerful and cohesive because of those fifteen well-spent years.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to lose patience—or hope—with the waiting I encounter in my life journey. Because in Your economy, waiting time isn’t wasted time. Amen.