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08 June 2020 - Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 and 2 Samuel 5:1:16

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Today’s devotion is from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 and 2 Samuel 5:1:16

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 essentially tells us that God has appointed the times and seasons of every person’s life, the events of our lives whether happy or sad and whether easy or difficult. This means that we must trust that God is in control of every situation.

Different seasons also means waiting

In 2 Samuel 5:1-16, we have the account of David finally being anointed as King of Israel. David had to wait over 20 years from the time he was first anointed by Samuel to be King.  Consider what David had to go through for those 20 years and how did David handle this ‘delay’. David had his ups and downs in life too. He trusted the Lord in the famous victory over Goliath. He encountered a lot of problems with King Saul and had to run away from him as Saul was trying to kill him. What lessons can we draw from these two passages?

      a)       Learning to trust God in the waiting

God will bring about his promises and purposes in your life in His time and not ours. But we are not patient people. We just do not like to wait in traffic, do not like to wait for food or tv shows. Waiting may be the hardest single thing we are called to do. But waiting is part of God’s plans.  God promised Abram and Sarai a child, but they had to wait 25 years to get Isaac. The Israelites had to wait 430 years in Egypt before returning to the promised land. Men had to wait 2000 years for the Messiah.  For example, in the current pandemic, people are asking what is God doing in this crisis? We have to remain patient and wait on the Lord. Maybe he is teaching us to spend more time with our families and teaching us how important it is to be relational. Pray this powerful verse in your season of waiting: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31). God tells us to wait, and to wait, and to wait. What are you waiting for today?

      b)      Are we able to stand firm in the Lord is silent?

In our seasons of waiting, God may be silent. Do we remain patient in faith and obedience? Or do we become take matters in our own hands and play God? In 1 Samuel 28, we have a story of Saul’s disobedience which we can learn from. Saul was in fear as the Philistines army was closing on him and God was silent. He consulted a medium to conjure with Prophet Samuel which is a clear disobedience. The Israelites sinned in the making of the golden calf, as described in Exodus 32. Was their failure not a failure to wait 40 days for Moses to return from the top of Mt. Sinai? In times of waiting, the enemy wants us to doubt God’s promises will ever be fulfilled. He may prompt us to disobey God and follow our own judgment.

All of us have walked the Emmaus road (Luke 24:13–32) wondering where God is and asking questions.  No matter what season you are in, let me reassure you Jesus was walking with you all along. The word of God is accessible anytime and anywhere and so hold on to his promises and stand firm with God through it all. The different seasons we have are the times we learn more of who we are in Him.

Suggested prayer:

Father, we thank you for being with us in every season of our lives. Give us strength to trust and praise you even in the hard times. O Lord, strengthen us to stand firm and faithful in You at all times. Amen.

 

 

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