Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
This passage of scripture teaches us how to deal with setbacks and disappointments in life, whenever they may come, and the counsel given here is for us to wait on The Lord, and to be of good courage. There are times in our experiences as Christians when the instruction given in this passage may seem to be very difficult to follow, especially when our fondest hopes and dreams may seem to be falling apart. It is often the case in the Christian's life, when we have experienced some sort of disappointment, for us to think that God has forgotten about us, and at these times we should avoid dwelling on what may seem to be an apparent failure, because God is not restricted by our performance, and His good will towards us will be fulfilled in its due season, for if we cooperate with Him in all things, there is absolutely no one to stop Him.
When David was called to the throne through the providence of God, the prospects of a bright future was laid before him, and as the prophet Samuel poured the anointing oil upon his head, he could not but think that everything would go smoothly, without any hiccups, since God was in it. But what David learned by experience, is that God's promise to be with us does not at all guarantee that we would not experience any daunting challenges or bitter disappointments. Furthermore, there is no Christian, or secular person, who has not gone through similar situations, for this is just a normal part of life on earth, and we should therefore use moments like these to walk by faith and not by sight.
After it was established beyond the shadow of a doubt, that God was with David, Saul took particular offense to the fact, and immediately set in motion, plans to defeat God's purposes. Not only did he try to slay David on several occasions with his own javelin, but when this did not succeed, he instituted a nationwide search for him, similar to what a bounty hunter in our day would do to capture a most wanted man. David had no clue up front, that in being blessed by God with the throne of Israel, he would become a fugitive in the process, but his harrowing experiences of disappointment and perplexity were often the means of developing sterling character, which would be needed for the office God was preparing him for. Let's read:
1st Samuel 19:1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. 9 And the evil spirit'... "was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin: but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. 12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.
Not in his wildest dreams did David ever believe that the call to greatness would be strewn with so many hardships and disappointments, yet through it all he learned to trust implicitly in God, leaving the vicissitudes of life in His hands, and trusting Him where he could not trace Him. Even when David thought that God had forsaken him, and he had resorted to falsehood to save his own life, yet God did not forsake him, even though his behavior on this occasion was not warranted. Let's read:
1st Samuel 21:10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
Try as Saul might, with all of his exhaustive searches for David, he had no power to stop God from accomplishing His good purposes, because although setbacks in life are part of the norm, they do not in any way inhibit God from doing His own good will towards us. On the contrary, He often uses these experiences as stepping stones, to bring us up higher and higher on the ladder of success, to where He wants us to be.
Let us therefore zip up our boots, and shake off the feelings of despair, for God will give us a brighter tomorrow, and let us always remember that failure only occurs when we quit, and those perplexing situations which did not turn out in our favor, may very well be the means God might use to strengthen our faith and fulfill His good promise. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to keep trusting in God, for He knows what is for our best good, and will come through for us in the fulness of time. Let's read:
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!