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Can God Get Glory from My Life?
by Dominique Henderson
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14 NIV
I’ve heard it said that women that go into labor and eventually give birth to a child hate the process of labor. (No kidding, right!) It is tremendous and intense pain. It is something that you despise and wonder why all this pain, but then suddenly all the pain of the situation is erased with the crying of the newborn baby. The delivery makes all of the pain of the process worth it. As the pain of the process becomes a distant memory, it is replaced by the immense joy of the new life that has been brought into the world. I imagine that King David felt that way before he became king of Israel. As he ran from Saul and his army being tracked through the wilderness like a wild animal he may have had thoughts that the process would never end. On his mind were probably things like “how will I ever be king since I’m being chased like a criminal?” or “I will lose my life before I ever sit on the throne”. Nevertheless, God knew all the time what process he was taking David through in order to make him ready for the kingship. Did David take the throne and still have character flaws? Yes, of course. But he was groomed and trained by God in the season before his kingship, so that he would be able to handle the weight (no pun intended) of the position. This is the lesson we can learn from David for ourselves: no matter how dire your situation seems, God is filtering it through his loving hands in order to give you a better end (see Job 42:12). There is nothing that catches God by surprise so we can rest assured that his plan for us is perfect and without flaw.
Where is Your Confidence?
Our confidence should be in the Lord. Verse 13 reads, “I am still confident of this…”. I would imagine that at the time this psalm was written David had seen many things. There could have been the images of battle on his mind among many other trials and tribulations. But he resolved to still be confident. This says to me that although he had gone through some things, his trust remained in the Lord. I believe that this is helpful because so often we choose to give up much too soon while God is taking us through a trial. We feel that we have been abandoned and that God doesn’t care. Well David decided to “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”. He knew because of experiencing God’s provision time and time again that God would undoubtedly come through for him again. No matter how bad it got, he still trusted in God. Can you and I say that today? That no matter how bad it will get that we will put our trust in God? Also notice that David was not speaking of the sweet “by and by”. He declared to receive God’s best while he was alive—not dead! It is possible that every time he hit a low point (in his life), that he recalled the aroma of that oil that Samuel poured on his head back in Bethlehem. Can you remember a time that God revealed his best for you and how that made you feel? This is what we have to do when the Enemy comes against us with the best that he has. We have to stand tall and declare that “we will believe the report of the Lord”!
Who are You Waiting on?
David chose to wait on God. This is not just a notion. It can be lonely waiting on God, and not to mention scary. Not only that, but often you can get distracted by the circumstances around you. Much like Peter stepping out of the boat to come to Jesus but getting distracted by the winds around him. This happens to every believer that decides to follow God hand and hand. What I have experienced though is just like what the old folks would say, “he may not come when you want him, but he’s always right on time.” God specializes in miraculous deliveries. He seems most interested in setting us up for them also. This is the way that his name receives glory, honor and men are drawn to him. This is the way that testimonies are born and individuals are delivered and set free. God’s plan is perfect. If we can change our mindset to believe that what God said is true and final, we can alleviate ourselves of unnecessary fret and worry (see Isaiah 26:3). Learn to wait on God. I promise that the delivery he is bringing will be well worth your wait.
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