Waiting with Honor
Good Morning,
Then David crept up secretly and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David’s conscience was stricken because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him since he is the LORD’s anointed.” 1 Sam. 24:5-6
The verses above provide one of the most practical illustrations in Scripture of the tension between waiting on God and taking matters into our own hands. This tension shows up in situations throughout the Bible. It is one of the things that makes God’s Word so relevant for us, because this dilemma confronts us on a regular basis as well.
David was in a long waiting game between being anointed as Israel’s next King and the time he finally takes the throne. (It ended up being about 15 years!) In that time, he faced Goliath, was jealously pursued by Saul, had to hide in the desert, lived on the run, was forced out of the nation, and fought countless battles.
It is in one of those times of running that David is presented with a perfect opportunity to speed the day of his Kingship along. Here is Saul, sleeping in a cave and all David had to do was end the life of this King who had been so disappointing in God’s eyes. David’s men encouraged him to do just that. “The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.”(24:3) Afterall, David had a promise of the kingdom. However, he had no command to slay the king in order to bring about the fulfillment of that promise. Oh, how tempting it must have been.
So why didn’t David seize this moment? Honor. Honor for God, God’s anointed, and God’s timing. Few could have blamed David for rationalizing that God had delivered Saul at this moment. Yet David knew that it was God who had anointed Saul and that only God had the right to end Saul’s reign. He even had remorse for cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe. He declares that it was disrespectful to the King and especially to God.
To be sure, Saul had been a tremendous thorn in his side. David's refusal to harm Saul wasn’t based on strategic or even moral grounds. He based his actions on his profound honor and respect for Yahweh. David’s allegiance to God dictated his actions in the middle of a long period of waiting. He was unwilling to take matters into his own hands and by doing so set God off to the side for even a moment. Honor trumped expediency.
Waiting will bring you face to face with your character. It will expose who really sits on the throne of your life. It will put our honor for God and His timing to the test.
To what extent is your honor and allegiance to God dictating how you respond to waiting? Will your character remain intact? Will your honor for God be the driving force in your actions?
Questions to ponder this week:
1. What are you waiting for that has you tempted to bypass God’s timing?
2. How is your honor for God showing up in your response to waiting?
3. Who can come alongside you in this challenging time?
Live on purpose, Ron Klopfenstein, CPLC
