The Scriptures contain many stories of people who waited years or even decades before the Lord’s promises came to pass. What modern believers can learn from the patience of biblical saints like Abraham, Joseph, David, and Paul is that waiting upon the Lord has eternal rewards.

Today let’s look at Israel’s most memorable monarch. David was the chosen heir to Israel’s throne, but he spent years dodging King Saul’s wrathful pursuit. Despite having two different opportunities for vengeance, David resisted the temptation and spared Saul’s life. He chose to adhere to God’s timetable for his coronation instead of dishonoring the Lord by killing the divinely anointed king. David’s psalms reveal his intimate awareness of Yahweh’s work in his life. The shepherd king not only achieved his objective through patience; he also observed that God’s way was always best.

David left behind an incredible testimony of God’s faithfulness for each of us to read and meditate upon. He was committed to waiting upon the Lord, and as a result, he had the Father’s approval and blessing. We cannot underestimate the reward of living in divine favor. That isn’t a special state reserved for “giants of the faith” like David. All who obediently endure until the Lord acts on their behalf abide in His favor.

David didn’t receive his blessings because he was special; he was honored among men because he honored the Lord above all. And since he trusted in God’s faithfulness, he endured hardship with patience. We, too, can expect to be blessed when we wait upon the Lord.

 A few years ago, while traveling across to Europe in a ferry, we found our bus parked next to a truck. It was one of those trucks where there are two levels of storage space for live animals. This time, it was loaded with sheep. There must have been at least a hundred sheep crammed into that vehicle, all on their way to the slaughterhouse. 

 As I observed the animals, they were behaving rather amusingly—some were sticking out their noses sniffing away, while others were trying to peek out curiously as they experienced the new smells, sights, and sounds that were quite different from their usual farmstead. Little did they know they were on their way to be butchered!

In another incident, it was reported a while ago that shepherds in Turkey watched in shock as hundreds of their sheep followed each other over a cliff. It started when one sheep went over the edge, only to be followed by the whole flock. At the end of the episode, more than 400 sheep died in the plunge—their bodies buffering the fall of 1,100 others that followed.

While we might laugh at the silliness of the sheep, it is also a vivid illustration of our human state. On a daily basis, we are offered joyrides that promise pleasure and adventure, opportunities that seem to realize our ambition for recognition, power, material wealth, intimacy, and even meaning. At every turn, we are led by advertisers to believe that their products or services can satiate our thirst for excitement and thrill. Unknowingly, we accept invitations for rides which take us on roads that could result in our slow spiritual deaths. Sadly, we are not often aware of the looming danger as we are too preoccupied taking in the new experience and novelty. By the time we arrive at our destination, it would be too late for us to escape our end.

 Anyone who has been to a sheep pen would tell you that sheep are not exactly the smartest in the animal kingdom. They do, however, have a strong instinct to follow the leader. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if the first sheep has no idea what it is doing. The incident in Turkey is a case in point. Apparently, even from birth, lambs are conditioned to follow the older members of the flock.

 Interestingly, sheep are often used to typify humans in the Bible. Jesus speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd and how we are like sheep that have gone astray who are in need of a shepherd.(1) Meanwhile, the wisdom of Proverbs warns us that “There is a way that seems right to a person, but in the end it leads to death.”

 Realizing our propensity to follow ways that are dangerous to our souls, how then might we safeguard ourselves from following the wrong leader? Paul, who recognized how easily the human heart is enticed by the things and the ways of the world, urged the Romans to no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds in the power of one worthy of leading. In short, if we are to follow the Good Shepherd, there is hope for every journey no matter how discouraging it might appear. By renewing our vision with the power of his life and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can discern the options presented to us by the world and avoid the way that leads to far less promising ends.

 I’Ching Thomas is associate director of training at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Singapore.

 (1) cf. John 10:14 Mathew 9:36.

Morning “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.” / Psalm 29:2

God’s glory is the result of his nature and acts. He is glorious in his
character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy, and good, and
lovely in God, that he must be glorious. The actions which flow from his
character are also glorious; but while he intends that they should manifest to
his creatures his goodness, and mercy, and justice, he is equally concerned
that the glory associated with them should be given only to himself. Nor is
there aught in ourselves in which we may glory; for who maketh us to differ
from another? And what have we that we did not receive from the God of all
grace? Then how careful ought we to be to walk humbly before the Lord! The
moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the
universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High. Shall the insect of
an hour glorify itself against the sun which warmed it into life? Shall the
potsherd exalt itself above the man who fashioned it upon the wheel? Shall the
dust of the desert strive with the whirlwind? Or the drops of the ocean
struggle with the tempest? Give unto the Lord, all ye righteous, give unto the
Lord glory and strength; give unto him the honour that is due unto his name.
Yet it is, perhaps, one of the hardest struggles of the Christian life to
learn this sentence–“Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name be glory.”
It is a lesson which God is ever teaching us, and teaching us sometimes by
most painful discipline. Let a Christian begin to boast, “I can do all
things,” without adding “through Christ which strengtheneth me,” and before
long he will have to groan, “I can do nothing,” and bemoan himself in the
dust. When we do anything for the Lord, and he is pleased to accept of our
doings, let us lay our crown at his feet, and exclaim, “Not I, but the grace
of God which was with me!”

Evening “Ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit.” / Romans 8:23

Present possession is declared. At this present moment we have the first
fruits of the Spirit. We have repentance, that gem of the first water; faith,
that priceless pearl; hope, the heavenly emerald; and love, the glorious ruby.
We are already made “new creatures in Christ Jesus,” by the effectual working
of God the Holy Ghost. This is called the firstfruit because it comes first.
As the wave-sheaf was the first of the harvest, so the spiritual life, and all
the graces which adorn that life, are the first operations of the Spirit of
God in our souls. The firstfruits were the pledge of the harvest. As soon as
the Israelite had plucked the first handful of ripe ears, he looked forward
with glad anticipation to the time when the wain should creak beneath the
sheaves. So, brethren, when God gives us things which are pure, lovely, and of
good report, as the work of the Holy Spirit, these are to us the prognostics
of the coming glory. The firstfruits were always holy to the Lord, and our new
nature, with all its powers, is a consecrated thing. The new life is not ours
that we should ascribe its excellence to our own merit; it is Christ’s image
and creation, and is ordained for his glory. But the firstfruits were not the
harvest, and the works of the Spirit in us at this moment are not the
consummation–the perfection is yet to come. We must not boast that we have
attained, and so reckon the wave-sheaf to be all the produce of the year: we
must hunger and thirst after righteousness, and pant for the day of full
redemption. Dear reader, this evening open your mouth wide, and God will fill
it. Let the boon in present possession excite in you a sacred avarice for more
grace. Groan within yourself for higher degrees of consecration, and your Lord
will grant them to you, for he is able to do exceeding abundantly above what
we ask or even think.