2 Samuel 4:1-5:5

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12, NKJV)

David had waited a long, long time to become king of Israel. Bible scholars estimate that David was running from Saul anywhere from eight to fifteen years before Saul was killed in battle. Then David reigned over Judah for seven and a half years before reigning over all Israel. During this time David learned to wait on the Lord, but it couldn’t have been easy.

Even after Saul’s son Ishbosheth was brutally murdered, David waited five and a half years for the elders of Israel to come to him and anoint him as king over Israel. We wonder if David was tempted to make a power grab before it was God’s time. But if he was tempted, he never acted on it. Even when others brought him the crown of Saul and the head of Saul’s son, David refused to take matters into his own hands but waited on God to fulfill His Word. When Israel finally came around, it must have been a tree of life to David!

Has God promised you something? It could either be a universal promise in His Word or an individual promise that you know is from Him. Don’t be in a hurry. It may take many years for it to come to pass. Will you be faithful to God in what He has given you to do and wait for Him to fulfill the desire? It is so much better when God satisfies the desire by grace rather than us trying to make it happen in our own wisdom or strength. If you want the ripe fruit from the tree of life, then you must wait for it!