The opening verse of 2 Samuel Chapter 3 says, “There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.” David was at war with Saul for what appears to be 17 years before he became Israel’s king. David had no home. He moved from desert to forest and back again. He lived in mountain caves and was in constant danger from Saul and Saul’s army as well as Israel’s perennial enemies, the Philistines. He was often pursued from city to city, but he never gave up. It was David’s perseverance that helped him grow stronger and stronger while Saul and his house grew weaker and weaker. When you look at the Psalms you see David crying out “How long, Oh Lord.” In times of adversity, we often wonder why God doesn’t just take action to alleviate the problem that His people are having.
The war between Saul’s house and David’s house was a long war and it took its toll on the nation, but God had a plan. The plan was that David would become “stronger and stronger.” We might say that God was allowing continual adversity in David’s life in order to strengthen his faith. Faith is idle when circumstances are right, only when they are adverse is one’s faith in God exercised. Faith, like muscle, grows strong and supple with exercise. It always takes time. David had to learn to wait upon the Lord. He understood Isiah’s promise, “Those who wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength.” In contrast, Saul became so impatient when he was told to wait for Samuel to offer sacrifices before the battle, that Saul offered the sacrifices himself. Saul was too impatient to wait upon the Lord. It seems he was more interested in “doing” something for God, than in “seeking” communion with God. Guess what Samuel said to Saul. “For now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart.”
Patience is indeed a great virtue that has it’s own rewards if we wait for it. I once read that when James Garfield (later President of the U.S.) was principal of Hiram College in Ohio, a father asked him if the course of study could be simplified so that his son might be able to go through by a shorter route. “Certainly,” Garfield replied, “But it all depends on what you want to make of your boy. When God wants to make an oak tree, He takes a hundred years. When He wants to make a squash, he requires only two months.” I’m afraid we have too many squashes in the world today. In the botanical order of things, I’d much rather be an oak tree than a squash.