The Patient Path

1 SAMUEL 24:3-7; 26:8-11

Do you desire God’s best for your life? Unfortunately, many people miss out on blessings because they are unwilling to wait for His timing. Scripture encourages believers to be patient.

David was a good example of this virtue when he chose not to use violence to take the throne that he knew would eventually be his. King Saul had become envious of the shepherd’s ability, anointing, and possible future royalty, so he planned to murder the young man. Twice, during this time of pursuit, David had been in arm’s reach of Saul, easily able to kill his pursuer. But in both instances, he chose to wait for God’s timing. He was unwilling to take matters into his own hands, even though ending Saul’s life would have provided much relief.

Thankfully, David was patient. Notice the attributes that allowed him to wait for the Lord’s timing. First, he had strong faith and believed that God would gain victory in the right time and with the right method. Second, he had the correct values; killing a king would violate his conscience. Third, discernment helped him realize that assassination would mean stepping out of God’s will. Fourth, strength played a role in this decision. How difficult it must have been to resist taking the action that would result in freedom and possible royalty.

Patience is refined in trying times, when you’re frustrated with the waiting and tempted to act outside of God’s will. Always seek His wisdom, and follow the instruction you receive. Remember that “those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength” (Isa. 40:31)

Planted by God    –    The cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

Psalms 104:16

Lebanon’s cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart that He had Himself prepared for its reception. Every true heir of heaven knows that it is God who planted him.

Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon do not depend upon man for their watering; they stand on the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and yet our heavenly Father supplies them. So it is with the Christian who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even in temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to the Lord his God, and to Him alone. The dew of heaven is his portion, and the God of heaven is his fountain.

Again, the cedars of Lebanon are not protected by any mortal power. They owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind and tempest. They are God’s trees, kept and preserved by Him, and by Him alone. It is precisely the same with the Christian. He is not a hothouse plant, sheltered from temptation; he stands in the most exposed position; he has no shelter, no protection, except this, that the broad wings of the eternal God always cover the cedars that He Himself has planted. Like cedars, believers are full of sap, having enough vitality to stay green, even amid the winter’s snows.

Lastly, the flourishing and majestic condition of the cedar is to the praise of God only. The Lord, even the Lord alone, has been everything to the cedars, and therefore David very sweetly puts it in one of the psalms, “Praise the Lord! Fruit trees and all cedars.”1 In the believer there is nothing that can magnify man; he is planted, nourished, and protected by the Lord’s own hand, and therefore to Him let all the glory be ascribed.

1Psalm 148:9

The family reading plan for August 13, 2011

1 Samuel 3 | Romans 3

God Is Always With You      –     HEBREWS 13:5-6

Craig Stowe served on a naval ship during World War II. As his vessel prepared for an attack, the commanding officer lined up the men. As usual, a volunteer was needed to ride out the battle in the crow’s nest and send pertinent information to the captain. No one stepped forward. Then, Stowe heard the Lord speak to his heart: I’ll be with you up there, as I am down here. The young man volunteered, and he endured without a single scratch. In fact, he reported that no harm even came near him.

Years later, Mr. Stowe told this story to his Sunday school class of teenage boys. The truth in that adventure broke through the emotional chaos of one young man’s difficult home life to deliver a life-changing message: God is always with you no matter where you are.

I was that young man. As I matured in my faith and studied Scripture, God confirmed what Mr. Stowe had taught me. I saw that Jesus stressed His abiding presence to His disciples. He knew how quickly a sense of rejection would settle in after the crucifixion. Moreover, potentially discouraging hardship awaited them as they carried the gospel to the rest of the world. So the Lord promised a Helper who would remain with Christians forever—the Holy Spirit.

Every day of a believer’s life is lived in the presence of Christ through His Holy Spirit. He comforts during hardship, encourages amidst difficulty, and strengthens when we are weak. The benefits of a relationship with God are not postponed until heaven; we walk with Him now and always

No Cause for Anxiety     –   The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice.

Psalms 97:1

There are no real causes for anxiety as long as this blessed sentence is true. On earth the Lord’s power controls the rage of the wicked as readily as the rage of the sea; His love refreshes the poor with mercy as easily as the earth with showers. Majesty gleams in flashes of lightning amid the tempest’s horrors, and the glory of the Lord is seen in its grandeur in the fall of empires and the crash of thrones. In all our conflicts and tribulations, we may behold the hand of the divine King.

God is God; He sees and hears

All our troubles, all our tears.

Soul, forget not, in your pains,

God o’er all forever reigns.

In hell, evil spirits acknowledge, with misery, His undoubted supremacy. When permitted to roam about, it is with a chain at their heel; the bit is in the mouth of the beast, and the hook in the jaws of the monster. Death’s darts are under the Lord’s jurisdiction, and the grave’s prisons have divine power as their jailer. The terrible vengeance of the Judge of all the earth causes fiends to cower and tremble.

Fear not death, nor Satan’s thrusts,

God defends who in Him trusts;

Soul, remember, in your pains,

God o’er all forever reigns.

In heaven there are none who doubt the sovereignty of the King Eternal, but all fall on their faces to do Him homage. Angels are His courtiers, the redeemed His favorites, and all delight to serve Him day and night. May we soon reach the city of the great King!

For this life’s long night of sadness

He will give us peace and gladness.

Soul, remember, in your pains,

God o’er all forever reigns.

The family reading plan for August 12, 2011

1 Samuel 2 | Romans 2