Grace in Galatians (Part 185) – Life Lessons From David While He Was Waiting

https://youtu.be/x2m9Zz-usVU?si=5BTcj_RX2nwismoj

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Galatians 6:10 NIV“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Galatians 6:9 ERV“We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up!”

Supporting scriptures:

1 Samuel 16:23 TPT“After that, whenever the bad depression from God tormented Saul, David got out his harp and played. That would calm Saul down, and he would feel better as the moodiness lifted.”

1 Samuel 24:6 AMPC“He said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to put forth my hand against him, when he is the anointed of the Lord.”

1 Samuel 22:1-2 AMPC“So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s house heard of it, they went down there to him. And everyone in distress or in debt or discontented gathered to him, and he became a commander over them. And there were with him about 400 men.”

1 Samuel 30:6 AMPC“David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of all the men were bitterly grieved… But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

Psalm 142:5 TPT“So I cried out to you, Lord, my only hiding place. You’re all I have, my only hope in this life, my last chance for help.”

Romans 12:21 TPT“Never let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.”

Setting the Stage:

Yesterday we walked with Joseph. Today we walk with David. Same principle, different setting. Doing good in the wait is what keeps you sane between the promise and the performance. Joseph waited 13 years between the dream and the throne. David waited even longer. The prophet Samuel anointed him king when David was a teenager, somewhere around 17 years old. David did not actually sit on the throne of all Israel until he was 37. Some of those years were brutal.

Look at David’s resume in the gap.

• He was minding his own business when he was called out of the fields, and a prophet anointed him to be the next king of Israel. 

• The Bible says that the spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day. He was anointed to be the next king of Israel that day, even though it would not happen for about 20 years. 

• He went home and shepherded sheep again, going back to his normal life.

• He was then called to the palace to play the harp for the king. He had to play music for the man he knew he was called to replace.

• Later, he showed up at the front lines of Israel’s army with bread for his brothers and ended up killing Goliath. 

• He moved into the palace, married the king’s daughter, and became a leader in the military. 

• He led Saul’s army to victory after victory and gave the king all the credit.

• He honored Saul even when Saul threw spears at him in the throne room. 

• He spared Saul’s life twice when he could have ended it. 

• He led 400 outcasts in the wilderness, and David turned them into mighty men.

• And while he was hiding in caves, he wrote some of the most beautiful Psalms the world has ever read.

Here is what I want you to see. David did GOOD even toward the man who hurt him. He did GOOD even when the doing good was not appreciated. He did GOOD with the gift God gave him while he was hiding for his life. The doing good is the thread that runs through David’s wait. And the doing good is the same engine that carried him to the throne. Let me give you four things David did in his wait that we can do in ours.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. David Played The Harp For The Hand That Wanted To Kill Him.

Read 1 Samuel 16 and 17. King Saul has been tormented by an evil spirit. His servants suggest a harp player. They sent for the boy from Bethlehem. David comes and plays. The Bible says Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit left him. Now think about this. David has already been anointed to be king by Samuel. Oil has already been poured on his head. He KNOWS he is supposed to sit where Saul is sitting. And what is the first thing God arranges for him? He plays the harp for Saul. He serves the man whose throne he is supposed to inherit. He uses his gift to refresh his soon-to-be rival. That is one of the most counterintuitive moves in the whole Old Testament. And it is exactly the kind of move that the grace of God will require of you while you wait.

How this applies to you:

— David’s first ministry was not to a sanctuary. It was to a tortured king. Your gift is sometimes for the very person you would rather not serve.

— The throne was not delayed because David served Saul. The throne was being shaped while David served Saul. Service to someone you consider to be the wrong man does not disqualify you from the right calling. It qualifies you. God needs to know that you will be obedient even when it’s not convenient. 

— I want you to imagine David sitting at the foot of the throne, harp in hand, looking up at the man whose seat he was anointed to fill. He did not pull rank. God had him there to pull strings. He played God’s music in a tormented man’s room.

— Some of you have a boss, a parent, a leader, or a peer who has hurt you, and God is asking you to bless them anyway. That is not weakness. That is a David-grade obedience, and it is an act of God’s grace.

— The harp was David’s gift. He used it for an enemy before he ever used it on the throne. In God’s Kingdom, your gift gets developed and refined in unfair rooms, oftentimes under unpleasant circumstances.

— Romans 12:21 TPT says, “Never let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.” David defeated the spirit on Saul with a harp. Your good is bigger than their bad!

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that doing good toward the hand that hurt you is one of the deepest expressions of your trust in God. You trust God so much that you can serve the very person you would normally resent. That’s grace!

— Serving the hand that hurt you is grace on display. And grace on display always gets rewarded by the God who put the grace on you.

2. David Honored Saul Even When Saul Was Hunting Him.

Read 1 Samuel 24. Saul is hunting David through the wilderness with 3,000 of his best soldiers. David is hiding in a cave with his men. Saul walks into the very cave to use the bathroom, not knowing David is there. David’s men whisper, “This is the day the Lord has delivered him into your hand.” David could have ended the whole hunt in one moment. One stab. One royal funeral. One crown. End of story. Instead, David sneaks up behind Saul and cuts off a corner of his robe. Then his heart convicts him for even doing THAT. He says, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my master, the Lord’s anointed.” Read that line again. Saul is HUNTING him, and David still calls him “the Lord’s anointed.” That is not weakness. That is reverence. David was more focused on God’s timing than his frustrations.

How this applies to you:

— The cave looked like David’s chance. David refused to take a throne his own way. A throne taken before God’s timing is a curse, not a crown.

— David’s men had a theology of opportunity. David had a theology of obedience. Just because the door is open does not mean God opened it.

— Some of you have a Saul. Somebody who has hurt you. Somebody who is making your life harder than it should be. Honor them anyway. Not because they deserve it. But because God deserves it.

— David honored the position even when the person was abusing it. You can disagree with a leader’s behavior without disrespecting their office. That is a kingdom distinction worth learning.

— Doing good toward Saul did not slow David’s promotion. It guaranteed it. God promotes people He can trust with power!

— I love this picture. David walked out of that cave with a piece of fabric in his hand instead of a kingdom. Sometimes obedience leaves the room with less than the world says you should have. But God always pays back what obedience leaves on the table.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the cave is not your final destination. The cave is the classroom where you learn how to wear a crown.

3. David Built Up The 400 Misfits God Sent To His Cave.

Read 1 Samuel 22. David escapes to the cave of Adullam. Word gets out. People start showing up. The AMPC says, “everyone in distress or in debt or discontented gathered to him.” About 400 men. Now think about who that crowd was. Broke. Bitter. Bruised. These were all men who were wanted by the same king. The leftovers of a society that had no place for them. David could have looked at his crew and said, “I asked God for an army and He sent me a halfway house.” Instead, he loved them, led them, and trained them. By 2 Samuel 23, that same group of misfits has become known as David’s MIGHTY MEN. The 400 broken men became the foundation of David’s kingdom because David did good to people whom the rest of Israel had thrown away.

How this applies to you:

— The cave is where misfits become mighty men. Do not despise the people God sent to you in the season nobody noticed you.

— David could have developed a self-pity ministry in that cave. But instead, he chose to run a leadership ministry. What you do for the people in your wait determines who stands with you in the manifestation.

— Some of you have a “400” right now. People nobody else has time for. People with too much baggage. People who need patience and pouring into. Pour into them anyway. Appreciate the people God has given you to be a blessing to.

— David did not wait until the throne to lead. He led from the cave. Leadership is not what you do when you have the title. It is what you do when nobody recognizes you yet.

— Doing good to your 400 will look like nothing for a long time. Then one day you will look up and realize the people God gave you in the wait are the people who carry you in the manifestation. In other words, God will give you a tribe when your tribe doesn’t look like much, and honestly, you don’t look like much either. But when all of you guys grow up, you’ll be thankful that you did not dismiss the tribe, and they did not dismiss you. 

— 1 Samuel 22:2 says they were “in distress or in debt or discontented.” What they look like when they show up does not matter. What matters is what you do with them.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the people God puts in your cave are not your consolation prize. They are your crown jewels.

— Greatness in God’s kingdom is developed in obscurity. Moses had 40 years on the backside of a desert before the burning bush. Joseph had 13 years between the dream and the throne. Jesus had 30 hidden years before three public years. And David had over a decade in caves and wilderness hideouts before he ever sat on the throne of all Israel. The cave is where God forges the man He plans to elevate. If you are in obscurity right now, do not despise it. God is not punishing you. He is preparing you.

4. David Worshiped In The Cave And Left The World A Songbook.

This is the one that ministers to me the most. David did not just lead in the cave. He WORSHIPED in the cave. He wrote Psalms in the cave. Psalm 142 is titled, “A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.” Read it sometime. He pours out his complaint to God. He admits his spirit was overwhelmed. And then he says, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” That Psalm has been the lifeline of millions of believers in their own caves for over 3,000 years. Now think about that. David’s worst seasons produced the Bible’s worship language. The doing good he did in the cave was the writing of words that have ministered to billions of people who have never met him. He did not save his worship for the throne. He worshiped where he was, and that worship became the songbook of Israel and the church. THAT is what doing good in the wait can do.

How this applies to you:

— Some of you are sitting in a cave RIGHT NOW. Do not waste it. Write your Psalm. Express your worship. Process the pain in God’s presence and let it become a gift to somebody else.

— The Psalms David wrote on the run have been ministering for three millennia. What you steward in your darkest season can be the very thing God uses to bless generations after you.

— Worship in the cave is not a denial of the cave. It is declaration over the cave. 

— David did not need a sanctuary to worship. Your circumstances do not get to set the terms of your praise.

— I want you to hear this in your spirit. The Psalms in your Bible were not written by men in palaces. Most of them were written by a man on the run. God is OK with raw worship from a real cave. He prefers it to polite worship from a comfortable pew.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the cave is not where ministry stops. It is where ministry that lasts is born.

That’s enough for today. We have walked with Joseph. We have walked with David. Two men. Two long waits. Two thrones at the end of the road. Both of them got there the same way. They did good in the wait, and the doing good is what carried them to the promise. Yours is coming too. Stay in the field. Stay at the harp. Stay in the cave. Keep doing good. Heaven is keeping receipts.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that David’s wait did not waste him, and my wait will not waste me!

Like David, I play the harp for the hand that wanted to hurt me, and I let my good defeat their evil.

I honor the Sauls in my life, because I trust Your timing more than my own opportunity.

I refuse to take a throne by force, because a throne taken before Your timing is a curse, not a crown.

I love the 400 You sent into my cave, and I pour into the people the world has thrown away.

I lead before the title, and I serve before the spotlight, because faithfulness in the wait is the foundation of the manifestation.

I worship in the cave, and I let my praise become a Psalm that ministers to generations after me.

My darkest season is producing my deepest songbook, and what is born in my cave will outlive my circumstances.

I am living in THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, and I have discovered that doing good in the wait is what carries me to the throne God promised.

I am living THE GRACE LIFE, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!