Most of us will come to a season of life when we feel overwhelmed by the unknown that lies before us. The death of a spouse, the loss of a child, a bitter divorce, unexpected unemployment, or a bad diagnosis of a life threatening disease can make us feel as if every anchor in our life has broken and we are adrift in an unfamiliar sea with storm clouds on the horizon.

We feel secure when life has been manageable and predictable. When we can believe that tomorrow will be like today and next year will be like this year, we may not be excited but we’re okay. But take away the predictability; stir in some dire possibilities; and life suddenly feels out of control, overwhelming, and fearful. The questions are no longer, “Where do we eat?” or “Where do you want to go next summer?” The questions become: “Will I always be alone?” “Will we lose the house and how will I feed my wife and kids?” Will I survive the cancer and how painful will it be?” “What will this divorce do to my children and will I ever stop feeling this pain?”

I’ve been in those places and I probably will be there again at some point. During those seasons I have and will live in the Psalms. David’s heart often cries out as a man whose circumstances seen contradictory to the promises of God and whose life seems uncertain. Think of it. One day David was watching the sheep, minding his own business, and sitting on a rock tossing stones into a brook as teenagers do. Suddenly, he was called to his father’s house and Samuel the prophet poured oil on him an announced that David was destined to be king over Israel. All that “good news” became a calamitous disruption for his life.

If you read between the lines, his older brothers seemed to resent him now that he was going to be somebody. David took on Goliath for the armies of Israel and his brothers accused him of being cocky and conceited. Through that encounter, King Saul became aware of David and took him into the palace to serve. Surely David thought, “Great, now I will be interned to be king.” When it was all said and done, Saul’s jealousy drove David from the palace and away from his family. He became a hunted man living in the wilderness with the whole Israeli army hunting him down. So where was the promise? Where were the blessings attached to that prophecy? Why was God letting a disobedient king live and continue to hunt down David? Would he even survive? What was going on?

Confusion, frustration, and fear began to mark his life from time to time but a thread of faith always remained. How did David navigate that season (which many scholars believe was a seven to eight year period) of running and hiding, sleeping in caves, and wondering where his and his men’s next meal was coming from? David’s psalms vacillate between hope and despair, answered prayers and sleepless nights when God seemed absent, along with assurance and uncertainty.

We find some clues in David’s life to help us in our own season of confusion and desperation. First of all, David was honest with the Lord about his feelings. He didn’t feign great faith on days when it had leaked out during the night. Honesty is unsettling sometimes but healthy. Some days I’m sure he had to borrow a little faith from a friend.

Secondly, David had a history with God and saw the clear touch of God’s hand in his past. If God had delivered him from the lion, the bear, and from a giant, surely he had plans for his life beyond this season of running and hiding. We can’t overstate the recognition of God’s hand, purposes, and faithfulness in our past that suggests he still has more for us. Interestingly we often notice his hand more when we are running from God than when we are serving him. It seems that he is more apparent when he is chasing us than when he is refining us.

David also had a promise that had come in the form of a prophecy. Graham Cooke says that a prophetic word is a powerful tool. He suggests that when running toward Goliath, he might have been thinking that it was impossible for him to die because God had declared that he would be king someday. The assurance of God’s promise in his life launched him toward the giant but also sustained him during the years that Saul was hunting him. When David was discouraged and despairing, he held on to the promise. We all need a promise that we can hold onto when life or our future is uncertain. If you have a prophetic word, hold on to it. If you don’t have a prophetic word, find a promise in scripture that resonates with your spirit and hold on to that. God keeps his promises.

Most importantly, although David wasn’t sure about how his future would unfold, he was certain about the character of God – his faithfulness, his enduring love, his mercy, and his willingness to forgive our failings. He was also certain that God would not abandon his own – if for nothing else, to make sure his reputation was not sullied by his failure to protect his own when they were among the faithful. “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Ps. 23), etc. God cannot violate his own nature. He is who he is and although his timing is rarely to our liking, his character will eventually show up in his response to our prayers.

Finally, when we have to wait on the Lord, it is not because we are not pleasing to him. The enemy always attacks when God delays his answers by suggesting that we have not seen our rescue yet because God is displeased with us or, perhaps, doesn’t love us like we hoped. Abraham waited 25 years for his promised son. Moses waited 40 years for his life in Egypt and his years as a shepherd to make sense. Joseph did jail time. David spent eight years in hiding. Noah preached 125 years without one conversion. My point is that waiting with uncertainty is part of the believer’s life. Most often, God is preparing us to steward the answers to our prayers.

When you are in the emotional chaos of uncertainty be honest about your struggles, look for the evidence of God’s hand in your past because it points to the future. Find a promise or a prophetic word to hold on to. Depend on the character of God to bring you out of the pit. It’s what he does because it’s who he is. Know that his delay is preparing you for your promises and know that you are loved. Waiting, in the face of uncertainty, is part of the life of the faithful and you are in very good company.

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18

Waiting is hard…especially, in a microwave world. Everything moves so fast. The entire world seems to change over night. Everything is microchipped and accelerated. We want faster foods, faster computers, and faster planes, faster weight loss…you name it. But in the spiritual realm, God does not measure progress by time but rather by growth. Waiting on God is hard, especially when his timetable does not match ours at all. Sometimes God is waiting on us while we are waiting on him.

I’m reminded of both Joseph and David. Both received amazing prophecies when they were young. Joseph got his in the form of prophetic dreams in which he saw his family bowing down to him. David received his when the prophet Samuel showed up, anointed him with oil, and declared that he would be king over Israel. My guess is that both young men anticipated the fulfillment of those prophecies within months of the moment they received them. Not only did they expect God to establish them in those prophetic roles, but also that their circumstances would soon begin to line up with their declared destinies.

Joseph, however, did not find his family as excited about his dreams as he was. Eventually, the arrogance of the young man stirred up resentment and even hatred among his older brothers. In response, they faked his death and sold him into slavery. He ended up not only far from home in Egypt, but in prison after false charges were lodged against him. Now, not only were months slipping by but years escaped him and the dreams that once excited him seemed impossible.

David’s prophecy seemed more likely in the beginning. He distinguished himself against Goliath and entered into King Saul’s service where, it seemed, he would learn the ropes of governing a nation. Everyone who knew the prophecy could see that he might be “interning” for his future role. But the better he served Saul, the more Saul felt threatened. David quickly lost his internship and became a wanted outlaw hiding in the deserts of Palestine. Many scholars estimate that David dodged Saul and his attempts to kill the young man for nearly eight years.   Not only were the years slipping by, but events looked as if the prophecy of Samuel had missed the mark by a mile. Even David thought, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is escape to the land of the Philistines” (1 Sam.27:1).

I am certain that both Joseph and David began to seriously doubt that the prophecies about them would ever come to pass. Years slipped by and events seemed to hold no promise for their fulfillment. In fact, both men surely quit thinking about the prophecies altogether and simply focused on surviving the day – Joseph in an Egyptian prison and David in caves in the desert.

So why the turn of events? Why the delay and the hardships? All I can say is that they were in training…not so much in skills but in their hearts. Both had destinies to lead nations. They each needed to be part of a maturing process in character, faith, and perspectives. Humility – dependence on God – had to be first and foremost coupled with the trust that only comes from experiencing God in hard times.

David continued to learn of God’s provision and protection in the midst of battles and finding provision in the wilderness. Joseph learned the same things in the dark nights of a foreign prison where life was always tenuous. Both learned not to judge what God was doing by sight, but rather to live by faith and to know that God’s promises stand regardless of present circumstances. Both, in a miraculous turn of events became leaders over nations.

Saul was the antithesis of these two men. Israel shouted for a king and Saul was crowned in weeks instead of years. He began well but when the pressure was on, his faith faded quickly. He was political, insecure, and treacherous. All of those qualities clearly point to a lack of faith in God to sustain his throne and to give him victories.

In 1 Samuel 13, we are told of a time when the Philistines were gathering troops to attack Israel. Samuel told Saul not to go into battle but to wait at Gilgal for seven days, until he (Samuel) came and offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord who would then lead them to victory. On the seventh day, Samuel had not arrived. Saul’s troops were “quaking with fear” and were beginning to scatter. Saul then took it on himself to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, although he was not a priest. As soon as the smoke cleared the altar, Samuel arrived and rebuked him for his disobedience and lack of faith. Saul’s men were afraid because their leader was afraid. They had no faith that God would give them the victory because their king had no faith. Samuel declared that day, that God had taken Saul’s kingdom from him.

Saul became king before his heart was tested and this character was established. He did not go through the process of waiting and maturing, so he stewarded the blessing he received as an insecure, impetuous child. The blessings were then lost. Waiting on our prayers and dreams is hard, but if we embrace the process, God will train our hearts so that when the blessings come and the promises and prophecies are fulfilled, we will be able to steward them well. Growth is the goal. We feel the pressure of time, but God marks our days by growth not by the calendar.

When dreams you have offered up in prayers go unanswered, the answer may not be “No,” but simply “Not yet.” If the desire is a godly desire and it remains in your heart, continue to pray but be willing to wait and while you wait, invite God to work in you and cooperate with the work. Be sure that the desire hasn’t become an idol in which you are placing your trust for happiness and significance, but that you constantly affirm that God is your source. God can only entrust us with dreams we hold loosely, otherwise our faith will be in the dream rather than in him.

Be blessed today and do not despise the process and the circumstances that seem to point away from answered prayer. You are in training. Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.