KEEP SERVING GOD WHILE YOU’RE WAITING. 1 Samuel 27.

It’s easy to think that when THIS THING finally happens, or when I reach THAT MILESTONE, I’ll start really doing things for God.

But life often comes down to what you do while you’re WAITING on that next thing. We need to serve God during the delays; not just after reaching some perfect destination, but while sitting in traffic en route. (If God removed literal traffic, countless prayers would never be prayed! In the same way, delays—figurative traffic—provide opportunities to serve God.)

David was the anointed king. He was grown, seasoned, ready. Yet Saul remained on the throne, and worse—kept up the constant, murderous pursuit of David. So David took his men and entered the land of the Philistines where Saul would not follow. While there, David convinced the Philistine king he and his army would raid cities in Judah. King Achish thus believed David was on his side and he left David alone.

But actually, David was raiding other cities belonging to Judah’s enemies, the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. His army wiped out every single person, as God had instructed the army of Moses to do centuries before. Not only was this God’s plan, but it ensured that no one survived to tell King Achish what David was really doing. For fourteen months David carried out these important and successful raids on Israel’s enemies.

Do you see the point? Though David was STILL waiting on God’s plan, STILL WAITING to take the throne promised him, he nevertheless found challenging ways to serve God. What are we waiting for? What is preventing us from serving God with our whole hearts?

Dear God, show us how we can serve you TODAY, right now, right where we are. Use us in the present, no matter how desperately we long for various goals in the future. Show us what we can do for you right here, right now. Lord, we give you our days—help us use the time effectively, serving you and storing up treasure in heaven.

ΑΩ