Perfect timing

1 Samuel 24:10-12 (The Message)
10-12This very day with your very own eyes you have seen that just now in the cave God put you in my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I wouldn't do it. I told them that I won't lift a finger against my master—he's God's anointed. Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn't. Look at the evidence! I'm not against you. I'm no rebel. I haven't sinned against you, and yet you're hunting me down to kill me. Let's decide which of us is in the right. God may avenge me, but it is in his hands, not mine.

1 Samuel 26:10 (The Message)
10 He went on, "As God lives, either God will strike him, or his time will come and he'll die in bed, or he'll fall in battle, but God forbid that I should lay a finger on God's anointed.

1 Samuel 30:6 (The Message)
6 David strengthened himself with trust in his God.

Today I've been thinking a lot about David. There are so many great characters in the Bible, but David has always remained one of my favorite, partly because I resonate a lot with his story, partly because of how honest and open he is about faith and life and struggles, and partly because he demonstrates great character - quick to repent and always recognizing God's love, sovereignty and power. He never fails to give God all the glory, and despite his mistakes, he always manages to trust God with such an intensity that I am left in completely wonderment.

Perhaps what I find most remarkable about the story of David is the fact that he had such trust and faith that God would put things together for him, that he never once tried to take things into his own hands. Twice, he had Saul delivered into his hands, the man who had been persecuting him for 12 years, and yet he refused to lift a finger and kill Saul. One stroke, and it could have been all over, and even though knowing that he was anointed to be the rightful king of Israel, he stood back and chose to do nothing. He trusted that God would take care of it for him.

I look at his story and I sit back and think "wow." I don't know many people who if given the chance, would choose NOT to take out the person who's been chasing them and trying to kill them. But yet we look at this story and we see that we have much to learn from his example, because besides demonstrating great faith and trust in God, he also shows us what it means to give honor to those around us, even to our enemies. David teaches us that when our strength is in God, we have nothing to fear and can walk on with boldness, knowing that God will bring all things to pass when the time is right.

Message for the day: There is no need for us to try and make happen what has already been promised. God will move when He will, and His timing will always be exact and perfect. When we learn to not only trust God, but to also trust His timing, it is then that we will find contentment in our circumstances because if something hasn't happened yet, it just simply means now's not the time.