God had promised David, the throne. And David was willing to wait for God to give it to him. It is quite a test of our faith and our patience when we have to wait for that which God has already promised to give us. David never lost anything by waiting and trusting in God. God had planned for David to become king as soon as he completed his thirtieth birthday; and circumstances worked out exactly as God had planned.
"David was thirty years old when he became king."(2 Sam. 5:4). David had learnt no doubt from the biography of Joseph that God was well able to put a man on the throne at His appointed time. The word of the Lord had tested Joseph also many years earlier in very trying circumstances. "They afflicted Joseph's feet with fetters; he was laid in irons. Until the time that God's word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him."(Psa. 105:18,19). But as soon as Joseph had completed his thirtieth birthday,God's time came and Joseph became the second ruler in Egypt. "Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt." (Gen. 41:46).
Neither the jealousy of his brothers nor the false accusation of Potiphar's wife could prevent God's plan for Joseph's life from being fulfilled. In fact they could not delay the accomplishment of God's will by even a single day. David had read that story and now he was determined to prove God's faithfulness and sovereignty in his own life. And he found that what God did for Joseph, he would do for him too.
The question now is whether we have faith that what God did for Joseph and David and a host of others, He will do for us too. Here is where our faith is tested. Do you believe, for example, that the marriage-partner whom God has planned for you will come to you, without your having to grab or to act carnally? And likewise, that the job and the house that God has planned for you - and all the other things that you need for life on earth - will come to you at God's appointed time? It is when we are faced with such needs that our faith is tested.
"Those who wait for the Lord (to work on their behalf) will never be ashamed." (Isa. 49:23). "For since the world began no-one has seen or heard of such a God as ours Who works for those who wait for Him." (Isa. 64:4- Living). Men of faith always get the best - without grabbing.
How different it was with Jacob who deceived his father in order to get the birthright! If only Jacob had committed the matter to God and trusted Him, he could have got the birthright without having to tell lies (Gen. 27). But because Jacob got it the wrong way, he had to run away from his home and suffer much for the next twenty years. All these incidents are recorded in Scripture for our instruction and our warning, so that we may not act in unbelief and impatience at any time.
When tempted to tell a lie in the office in order to escape out a tight spot, we can refuse the temptation and honour God and trust Him to take care of us. You can never lose out by telling the truth and honouring God. After all, God is certainly more powerful than any lie. And if a lie can deliver you, how much more God can!! "Promotion does not come from the east or the west (that is, by chance), (nor from any man), but God is the Judge Who puts down one and exalts another."(Psa. 75:6,7). It is God alone who can exalt an unknown Joseph and an unknown David to an important ministry, after having tested them and found them faithful.
Recounting his experience later, David says, "You have tested me O God; You have refined me as silver is refined. You brought me into a net; You laid an oppressive burden on my back. You allowed men to be placed over me and to ride over my head. I had to pass through fire and water. But through it all you finally brought me to a place of liberty and overflowing abundance". (Psa. 66:10-12).
That is how David's cup began to overflow and run over. (In Psalm 23:5, David uses the same Hebrew word for 'running over' that he uses in Psalm 66:12 for 'place of abundance'). God's ultimate purpose is to bring us to a place of glorious freedom where the rivers of living water flow out from us continuously. But He cannot lead us there without testing us first.
He will take us through fire and water. He will allow men to abuse us and to take advantage of us. He will put us into the net - confining our movement and our ministry. In all these situations, He will watch our reactions. If we bow in humble and joyful acceptance of all that He has ordered for our lives, He will certainly bring us finally to the place of overflowing abundance.
