The Giant of Wait
5 Stones of Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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We began our series on the 5 Stones of Faith a few weeks ago. We got that from 1 Samuel 17:40, which reads…
He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
David used one of the stones to kill a real giant named Goliath, but we can apply the concept of the five stones as we try to conquer the metaphorical giants in our lives.
The Giant of Doubt
The Giant of the World
The Giant of Fear
The Giant of Strongholds
Today, we will try to defeat the Giant of Wait!
Waiting for our house to sell…
The contract was signed in the evening on April 30th, the day my license expired.
We always have our plans and expectations, but God’s timing is perfect and for His purposes and reasons.
The sale of the house was further confirmation that we had come to the right church.
Once again, using David's life as an example, we see how he also had to face the Giant of Wait.
1 Samuel 16 mentions when David is anointed king.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Most people estimate that David was about 14-15 years old when Samuel anointed him.
Although David was anointed king, he would have to wait some time before he fully realized his kingship.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
David had to wait about 15 to 16 years from the day he was anointed as king before he actually began his reign. Then, he had to wait another 7 years before he was recognized as king over all of Israel.
Did God forget David?
Did God forget His promise to David?
Did Saul’s sin and stubbornness disrupt God’s plans?
Of course, we know from the Bible and history that God did not forget David.
God had a plan and purpose for David, and part of that was learned through waiting.
David was being prepared to become the man God needed His next king to be.
David understood this and honored it.
Twice, David had the chance to end Saul’s life. He could have rushed the process of Saul becoming king. But David respected the Lord’s anointing of King Saul, His plans, and His timing.
David knew that God had chosen him, and it was no mistake.
This time of preparation was crucial and very challenging for David.
Nevertheless, David learned honor, dependence, and grew closer to God during his time on the run from Saul. Most of David’s beautiful and poetic psalms were written while he was in caves, caverns, and the wilderness, waiting on God.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.
Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!
Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes.
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.
What lessons can we take from David’s experience and apply to our lives?
Turn with me to Lamentations chapter 3. Lamentations is after Jeremiah and before Ezekiel.
Lamentations 3:21-26includes some of my favorite verses in the Bible.
In fact, if you listen to me pray, I often refer to verses 22-23.
R. E. S. T.
R. E. S. T.
I have created the acronym R.E.S.T. to assist us in our mission to defeat and conquer the Giant of Wait!
Recall
Recall
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
The word “Hope” actually means “wait.” “Therefore I wait”
You will also notice the use of absolutes in this verse “Never” and “Every!”
What never ends and what never fails? His lovingkindness and compassion.
Better yet, they begin anew each morning!
We are told not to use absolutes, especially when we are arguing.
However, when talking about God, we can because He is absolute. He is perfect!
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
The first step to defeating the Giant of Wait is to remember and recall all the times God has pulled through for us in the past.
Step two is to recognize He is Error-Free
Error-Free
Error-Free
Great is Your faithfulness.
When we think of faithfulness, we tend to view it in human terms. (Joe or Jenny Christian faithfully attend church.) But the truth is, they might miss some Sundays, and they may even skip a Sunday simply because they don’t feel like going, yet still claim to be faithful members of our church.
The word “faithful” in this verse conveys a meaning much deeper than what we usually think. Faithful here means to be without error, steadfast, and permanent.
In other words, God’s faithfulness is not like ours; what He says about Himself is completely true and reliable.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
What is the confession of our hope? Jesus is coming back for us. In our process of facing the Giant of Wait, we can have confidence that when God says wait, He has a purpose.
That brings us to “S,” which stands for Stand By. In other words, as we recall God’s goodness and place our confidence in His faithfulness, we need to understand that our waiting is for our own good.
Stand By - Wait
Stand By - Wait
When I think of “Stand By or Wait,” I picture waiting in line at the airport just before boarding the plane. Usually, there is a reason for the wait:
Waiting for the plane to reach the gate. (If we didn’t wait, we would walk down the gate ramp and fall flat on our faces because there is no plane to walk on.)
Waiting for the plane to be cleaned. (If we didn’t wait, we would be sitting in the dirt and mess left by other passengers.)
Waiting for the pilot. (If we didn’t wait for the pilot, we might be on the plane, but we wouldn’t be going anywhere.)
The same idea applies here in verses 24-25.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.
We are supposed to wait for God, but He also says, while you're waiting, seek Me!
I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
Far too often, if you're like me, I end up agreeing to wait because I feel I have no choice. It's almost like an angry kid with arms crossed—I’m waiting, but I want you to know I don’t agree and I don’t like it.
But God is saying, while I ask you to wait, get to know me. Look into my love letter to you, pray, and seek me.
Let’s review:
R – Recall, remember all the times God has come through for us and others in our lives
E – Error-Free, God does not make mistakes; He is Faithful. If He is asking us to wait, it is for a reason.
S – Stand By, this is the actual waiting, but while we wait, seek Him.
The last point is T – Trust.
Trust
Trust
It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord.
Trust is difficult. We often pride ourselves on having all the answers and wrongly believe that God has made a mistake. But He is telling us that if we want to see salvation in our situation, we must trust Him and His timing.
How often do we make bad purchases or financial decisions because we get impatient and don’t want to wait for God’s timing?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
In closing
If you are like me, a method of defeating the Giant of Wait is all well and good, but what about the Why?
Why the waiting?
What possible purpose can God have for us to wait?
While there are many reasons, I would like to present one that resonates with me and that I see clearly in scripture.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Paul reminds us that we are God’s workmanship. Anything with value and worth takes time to establish and build.
Every trial teaches us endurance.
Every circumstance teaches us trust.
Every success teaches us to praise.
Every failure teaches us dependence.
Just as God had David wait to make him the king He desired, God is shaping and building us into the people He has chosen us to be, to become more like Christ and ultimately for His glory.
Let’s Pray
