Waiting on God’s Timing
When we look toward some of the Bible’s most recognizable characters, David really stands out on the ol’ Sunday school felt board. I mean, he’s got the whole shepherd thing going (1 Sam. 17:34-36), the slingshot that takes out Goliath (1 Sam. 17:50), and many times he made a heck of a king (minus the whole Bathsheba/Uriah debacle, but we’ll get to that later in 2 Sam. 11).
On the front end, David is a picture of incredible humility and patience. I’m guessing that being the youngest of eight brothers means he didn’t always get to do what he wanted. Considering that his father, Jesse, offers all of David’s brothers to Samuel for anointing and doesn’t even David in the lineup (1 Sam. 16:5-13) as well as his brother’s elitist attitude toward him (“Who do you think you are leaving the sheep?,” (1 Sam. 17:28) it seems that David was not exactly the most esteemed member of the family.
Despite the disregard David is shown by his fellow men, God chooses the young shepherd to be king over Israel. Considering what David’s life has been like up to this point, his anointing certainly had the potential to be pretty heady for a young man.
This is why it is so incredible that for years after his anointing, David remains inexplicably loyal to Saul, the established king, even when the guy tries to murder him! Then, after Saul dies, David still doesn’t hurry the process, instead waiting for Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth to get out of the way as well (2 Sam. 2:10). Finally, after “the war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time” (2 Sam. 3:1 NIV), David becomes king of Israel at age thirty (2 Sam. 5:4), at least fifteen years after he was first promised the crown. Incredible.
I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be so patient–not to mention so mistreated—while waiting for something that you-know-that-you-know-that-you-know is yours to claim.
Sadly, David’s Patience Waned as an Adult
Because David displays such incredible patience and integrity during his adolescence and early adulthood (not exactly years that are known for restraint), we might expect him to display even greater integrity as he ages. Unfortunately, that’s not how it plays out, and the history of David’s reign is marked by a major character stain: his affair with Bathsheba.
The details of the story may be familiar. While David’s troops are out fighting for the kingdom, David is hanging out at home and notices the beautiful Bathsheba bathing on a nearby balcony. David calls for her and sleeps with her, resulting in a pregnancy. Not wanting to be caught in his misdeeds, David then does some military order shuffling that ends with Bathsheba’s husband dead on the battlefield and Bathsheba being taken into David’s household as his wife (2 Sam. 11).
While it’s easy to get distracted by the salacious details of the story, what we want to focus on here is the drastic change in David’s character. Unlike the years he waited to become king, with all its discomfort and difficulty, he displays neither patience nor integrity here. He sees Bathsheba. He wants what he wants when he wants it. He sacrifices his integrity and the life of another to cover his indiscretions.
What can we take away from watching this drastic change from a patient, trusting young man to an impatient, occasionally reckless adult?
We need to trust, wait, and ask about God’s timing. No matter what the answer is.
The Comfort and Protection of Trusting God’s Timing
David’s life is proof that any of us are subject to character lapses. I don’t offer this statement from a place of fear but one of awareness. If we assume the way we have always been is the way we will always be, we fall prey to a fallacy. Instead, we are what we cultivate. For whatever reason, David let the patience, humility, and integrity of his youth slip at some point, likely contributing to a slow fade that ends with his affair with Bathsheba. The fact that this happens to the “one after God’s own heart” should give all of us pause.
One of the hardest things we are ever asked to do as followers of Jesus is wait on his timing. We are always moving between the patience of young David and the loss of his integrity as an older man.
Lord, draw us toward a deep, deep trust in you as we wait on so many things that we so deeply desire. Your timing is always best. Help convince us of that. Amen.
is an author, speaker, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist and veteran coach’s wife. She and her husband Tim have two children and are passionate about reaching people for Christ and sharing information on coaching, marriage, family, and mental health. Read more from Anne at www.annerulo.com.
Photograph © K Adams, used with permission
