Deployed: Encouragement While Serving In Harm's WaySample

Standby to Standby

Waiting.  Nobody likes to do it, and we do it a lot in the military.  “Standby to standby,” essentially means it will happen in the next few minutes, twenty or never.  You have no idea.  You are not in control.  You simply have to wait.  

Today’s reading from 1 Samuel 24 is about David, the same guy who killed the giant Goliath. When he was a teenager, he was given a promise by God that he would one day be king of Israel.  Here’s the catch, this wouldn’t happen right away.  He had to wait.  Even harder was the fact that the current king, Saul, wanted him dead.  David had many lonely years of living on the run, hungry, alone and hiding from Saul.  That promise of being the future king didn’t look like it would ever happen.  

One day, David was hiding in a cave when King Saul came inside to take a little bathroom break.  David had a chance to take out his enemy and speed up God’s timeline.  Wouldn’t you take out your enemy if given the chance?  It only makes sense, yet David felt this was cutting corners.  He didn’t want to become the king by force, so he literally cut a piece of Saul’s robe off to make a point that he spared his life.  If he was to be king, God would make it happen in His perfect timing.  

Sometimes, God has us wait with great reason. Waiting allows us the opportunity to mature, to exercise patience, to grow in areas that we are deficient.

If God has you waiting on something right now, you can bet it’s for a good reason. You may not be ready for what He plans to give you in the future.  He may need to grow you or He's getting the situation ready.  David learned military tactics, how to lead soldiers, how to seek direction from God and eventually how to lead a nation during his time of waiting. His wait had purpose.  When you wait on God to give you your desire, it will be worth the wait.

Questions:

1.  What is something you have waited for in your life? 

2. What is the benefit of waiting on God to act?

3.  What do you think God may be teaching you as you wait?