The Grace Street Blog

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7

Waiting can expose the worst of us or it could reveal a sense of faithful patience only possible when we have something worth trusting in.

In 1 Samuel, we see two very different responses to moments of waiting.

Despite both scenarios beginning with a promise of overcoming, the way Saul and David differ in the journey to that promise is one I believe emphasizes the importance of knowing who God truly is.

Believers and non-believers succeed and fail in life all the time. There is no clear cut path to success and for the ones who choose to follow Jesus, He even warns us of the hardships we will endure.

This is the fourth, going on fifth, year of my blog. The Grace Street Blog was something I began planning just before I went into college in 2021. It has been an outlet for my passion of writing and sharing whatever God teaches me. However, I knew this wasn’t the extent of content I longed to produce. I wanted, and still deeply desire, to write books and devotionals that might encourage the same type of authenticity, vulnerability, and discipline to Jesus as I hope this blog does. But as I realize we are nearing half a decade of writing on this platform without any book in the near future, I have struggled with understanding the purpose of this passion God instilled in me.

I thought about taking a hiatus from this blog so that I can focus solely on a book, but there was no peace in that. And every idea I come up with to expedite this dream of publishing something one day, has done nothing but felt self-glorifying or just wrong.

Now as a lover of thoughtful decision-making, normally, I am not that phased by things taking some time. Yet this case has been so different. And as I was flooded with doubts, insecurities, and fears over the last few weeks thinking of how to approach this situation, God opened my eyes to the beauty of knowing Him while we wait.

As one can only know the great power and peace of our comforting God through suffering, perhaps there are aspects of God our soul so deeply longs for, yet are only experienced during periods of waiting.

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul and his men are found waiting in a place called Gilgal for Samuel to come and give them the next direction on their pursuit of the Philistines. However, seven days had passed and left many of the men filled with fear to the point where they had lost hope and began going their own ways. This pressure rose anxiety in Saul’s mind as he saw his army depleting and a victory over the Philistines slowly becoming less likely. So instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive so that he could make an offering to the Lord and seek guidance, Saul took the task of burning an offering on his own. Yet soon after he made his offering, Samuel arrived and rebuked him.

An offering to God may not seem like something he should have been scolded over. But when it was done out of fear of man and the pressure of doubt in God’s faithfulness, it was no longer an offering made with a desire to experience, honor, and hear from God. Rather, it was one seeking an end to his waiting.

As we move on towards chapter 16, we hear about the anointing of David as the next king. David was a young man least likely to be assumed as king. Yet God reveals in verse 7, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

After this exciting promise of a grand future for David, Samuel leaves him and he goes back to doing what he was doing prior to the anointing. Because God’s timing did not call for David to take the throne yet, David continued to honor God though the tasks he was currently assigned. That being, the tasks of tending sheep.

As time went on, with the Lord no longer empowering Saul, he began experiencing horrible tormenting from a spirit. His attendants, in search of some sort of remedy, found a lyre (musical instrument) could produce a harmony that would settle the tormenting in Saul’s mind.

Thinking of who this talented musician could be, they called David, as they had found he had been quite experienced in playing.

This passage was between two very monumental moments in David’s life. It came after his anointing, but prior to the conquering of Goliath that made him so well known.

Playing the lyre may have been something his family passed down to him, or perhaps it was just a hobby he found joy in during his free time. Whatever the reason, all those years of practicing and playing led to this very moment where he would enter the king’s courts, anointed, yet honoring God in a way so different than what that anointment prophesied.

Not because God couldn’t get him into the kings position, but because He knew it wasn’t David’s time yet. And David, having trust in the faithful timing of the Lord, honored God through the new task set before him.

It can be very difficult to see the purpose of certain seasons. And sometimes, it seems as though certain things last longer than they should.

As I continue to write on this blog, knowing I have no draft, outline, or research done for a book that I believe God put a desire for in my heart years ago, I am faced with a decision. Two options. To either wait on the Lord and allow Him to open my eyes to the value of where I am now. Or to neglect the tasks God set in front me and pursue my dreams by my own strength.

Both could lead to success in the eyes of the world. But both do not lead to a life marked by the nearness of God and an understanding of who He is.

I fear humanity is so chained by the lie that we have but one purpose in life; our career. “What do you do for a living?” is such a common question asked and deeply so defining.

But lover of Christ, what you do for a living ought to be loving God and His people in whatever place you are in right now. Your purpose is not dependent on your career or held back because you are not where you think you ought to be.

Krystal Ribble, author of Love Me In The Waiting says, “But what if our waiting was always purposeful? What if God’s plan all along was made better by our seasons of waiting? What if our waiting led us to the paradise of abundant life? What if our waiting was not in fact taking something from us, but giving us more than we have asked or dreamed? And what if our waiting isn’t leading us to an end, but to Jesus?“

My dear friend, David recognized the greatest thing about the waiting was not where it would lead, but the bond he would build with the God who promised him the victory and His presence through it all. May we not get so caught up in the end “goal”, for perhaps it should not even be our priority after all. For if we honor God and love Him in every circumstance, we might see that the greatest thing we could experience is not the victory, but the privilege of knowing the God that our souls were made to be in harmony with since the beginning.

Thoughts To Consider:

What are you most tempted to force into existence rather than surrender to God’s timing?

Do you view your current season as valuable to God, or merely as an obstacle to your “real” purpose?

How would your mindset change if you believed waiting was forming you instead of delaying you?

Consider that the greatest blessing of waiting may not be arrival, but intimacy with the One who walks beside you through it.

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7