The forces tempting the waiting soul forward

Let's imagine together:

You're driving in the middle of nowhere, and you come to a red light. No traffic to be seen. No police to be found. No cameras nearby.

Are you waiting? Or going?

A Defining Moment

We all have defining moments in life.

Graduations. Rites of passage. Victories and defeats. Firsts and lasts. Breakdowns and breakthroughs. The list goes on and on. But red lights? Most of us wouldn't consider those as defining moments.

Come with me to the life of yet-to-be King David, and I'll show you a defining moment. I doubt it's what you may have in mind:

• That thing with the Philistine? No.

• All those Psalms he wrote? No.

• That Bathsheba situation? Nope.

• That incredible visit with Mephibosheth after becoming king? Not that either.

Instead, we're at a red-light-moment of waiting that once again reinforces why David is often referred to as a man after God's own heart.

Why?

Given the opportunity to seize the throne of Israel, David chose the heart of God in the midst of a number of very familiar forces at play in the all-too-human experience of waiting.

A Not-Yet-King's Red Light

In 1 Samuel 24, King Saul is still the appointed king of Israel.

But he's somewhat-to-very aware that his reign is limited, as David is God's anointed king of Israel. Naturally, Saul is angered by this, and out for blood. Given the news that David is in the desert of En Gedi, Saul amasses some men to pursue David.

Then we get a strange detail:

Whether this was a bathroom break, a break for a nap, or something else entirely, we don't know. But Hollywood couldn't write a better development than what comes next: David and his men were far back in this very cave.

Instantly, the tension is palpable.

Just imagine anyone you're at odds with showing up in the same room as you, and you can begin to appreciate the situation, and understand the forces at work on the yet-to-be king David.

What Life's Red Lights Reveal

Life's red lights reveal a lot to us...if we're paying attention.

Specifically, we gain insight about the nature of the forces tempting us to bypass waiting at life's red lights:

Opportunity

Given the right set of conditions, you know what we construct? Doorways.

By that I mean those proverbial "open doors." The human mind has an incredible capacity for spotting patterns and opportunities where there may be none. Just ask any statistician: you can make statistics say anything you wish. Same with life's circumstances.

Saul showing up in the same cave as David - with his defenses down - may be the most enticing of open doors out there. Unless it wasn't.

Consensus

We're all susceptible to this one.

We're used to a voting system in the United States, aren't we? Truth be told, we had that system in place long before we were old enough to fill out a ballot. Majority opinion is a tempting thing to make decisions by, and David had it right there in his ear:

Justification

You know when it's really tempting to go after someone else? When someone else is coming after you.

None of us would blame David for raising his hand, his sword, or his men against Saul in this moment. After all, Saul had tried - and was trying again here - to end David's life. Some would even consider it wise to kill Saul right there in the cave, in an act of self-preservation.

A Different Set of Standards

Think about these three forces for a moment: consensus, opportunity, justification.

The presence of just one of those is often enough for us to act. But instead of being shoved forward by these familiar forces, David decided to wait based on a different set of standards.

Three details revealed David's state of mind as he faced this opportunity to end his time of waiting:

The wiring of God: our conscience

It has been said that the human conscience is God's megaphone.

To ignore one's conscience is to neglect and dull one of the ways He speaks to us. David is struck by what he's done, seeing it as an act against the one God had placed in authority over him and all Israel.

The word of God: His commands

How often do we overlook what God has already clearly said?

As Jesus reminded us in Matthew 13:52 - for disciples of Jesus there are treasures old and new to be found in God's word. Will we look there to inform our current situation, as David did?

The will of God: His promises

Vindication is defined as the act of clearing someone, or proving someone/something as right, reasonable, or justified.

Rather than acting in the interest of vindicating himself, David knew that was God's to do for him, on his behalf. Why? Because it had already been promised in his anointing as king of Israel - even if he wasn't currently on the throne.

The wiring of God (our conscience).

The word of God (His commands).

The will of God (His promises).

Taken together, what do these comprise? It's what Paul referred to as the mind of Christ.

It's from this mindset - found only in relationship with Christ - that we gain victory over forces like opportunity, consensus, and justification when we're waiting at life's red lights. To let those forces push us forward is to make ourselves subject to life's objects (in David's case a crown...in our case anything). Ultimately, they can push us so far that we miss out on what God has in and at the end of our waiting.

Let us be reminded that for followers of Jesus Christ, life's objects are always subject to our King - who knows our desires, knows our circumstances, and is abundantly present with us in the waiting.

Until next week,

Nathan