Staying in your story - Part 1

Let’s talk about staying in the story. Unfortunately, there are times when it seems we face years of silence from heaven, when it feels as if our sought-after season will never arrive. This is referred to as the part of the story called the plot.

This is the part of our story that represents the main body of our journey. It points to those seasons in which nothing seems to be happening. What we must realize is God seldom writes short stories, in most instances they are long.

Remember He is a skill author and He knows how to write a good plot. Take for instance Exodus 12:40-41 (NKJV) Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years--on that very same day--it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

For 430 years God took the Israelites on a journey that made for an interesting plot to their story. The reality is God is writing our story we don’t get to choose which parts we want to be a part of and the ones we want to eliminate.
Waiting on God is an important element in everyone’s story. It was in David’s. God taught him by taking him through a special school, Saul’s school.

At first it appears Saul is an antagonist, but he was actually a gift to David. From his front row seat in Saul’s court, David learned the devastating consequences of Saul’s mistakes. David learned best by watching how not to do things.
One of the greatest lessons David learned was by watching how Saul refused to wait on God. It is apparent David learned this valuable lesson so that he could cooperate with God’s storyline for his throne.

The bible records three critical times Saul did not wait on the Lord. The first on was when he was being invaded by the Philistines.

1 Samuel 13:5 (NKJV)
⁵ Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven.

Not long after Saul had been crowned king of Israel, the Philistines came to challenge his throne with a military invasion. They attacked with an army so large it was compared to sand upon the seashore.

The armies of Israel were intimidated and terrified, causing the people to hide in caves, thickets, and holes. Many of Israel’s warriors fled to the far side of the Jordon to escape the battle.
Saul and Samuel had an agreed agreement. Within seven days, Samuel would come to Gilgal, offer the burnt offering to the Lord, and then Saul and his army would proceed to the battle.

But after the agreement was made, God told Samuel to show up on day eight, God was going to test Saul by having Samuel get there too late. As day seven approached, Saul continued to suffer attrition in his army. He was desperate for Samuel to come and perform the sacrifice because he was not authorized by God to make a priestly sacrifice.

Finally, when Samuel did show up at the agreed time, Saul felt he could wait no longer because the longer he waited the more soldiers he lost. The situation demanded action, desperate to save his troops Saul offered the burnt offering to the Lord.
No sooner had Saul finished presenting the burnt offering Samuel arrived with some strong words for Saul.

1 Samuel 13:13-14 (NKJV)
And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.  But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."

In other words, God was saying, “Saul, since you will not wait on me, I will replace you with a king who will.” Saul’s refusal to wait on God cost him the throne.

If we are going to blow the waiting test this is usually when we do it. Like Saul it is when the battle we are engaged in is going against us.

You must understand you are not in this alone, God is in the middle of your story, your, crisis right alone beside you. Be patient, trust in Him, did He not tell us He would never leave or forsaken us?