In the book of Esther, Mordecai tells his niece that God had prepared her “for such a time as this.” But there’s a different side of that phrase that we don’t often think about. Sometimes, God has a plan to use you in a specific way, but it is NOT right now. This is NOT the right time. A professor of mine in Bible college put it this way: “Sin does not have to be something that is inherently wrong, but can be something that is not in God’s purpose and plan for your life right now.”     

            This is very evident in 1 Samuel 26. David has already been anointed as the future king of Israel. He knows it. The people know it. Saul, the incumbent king, knows it. Yet Saul is chasing David to kill him. He is literally trying to destroy the plan of God revealed through the prophet. We know that David was a mighty warrior, but he was apparently also very stealthy. He snuck into Saul’s camp, past his bodyguards (of whom Abner was one, and Abner is described as a valiant man), and took Saul’s canteen (water cruse) and his spear. That’s like sneaking into a military base and stealing a soldier’s rifle!

            Abishai, David’s servant, suggested that they just kill Saul right then and there. They wouldn’t have to run any more, and David could take his place as the rightfully anointed King of Israel. David acknowledges that this would be sin when he says, “who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?... The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed.” David could have said, “I know that it is God’s revealed plan for my life for me to be king over Israel, so I’m just going to speed up the process.”

            In my life, I have faced this frustration in the past (and being completely transparent, I struggle with it right now too). It can be very hard to wait on God’s timing. But taking God’s plan in our time, is not taking God’s plan. He knows every detail. He knows every circumstance. The One who has had a plan since before the world began, has a perfect plan for your life. Don’t rush it. In God’s timing, His plan will be better than you could ever imagine!

            Just look at what the Psalmist said in Psalm 117 (This is the shortest chapter in the English Bible, so if you want to memorize a whole chapter, this would be an easy candidate!)

“O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.”

            Why can we praise the Lord? Because of his merciful kindness and his everlasting truth. With just those two things, we can know that His plan is best, because everything that comes from Him is right, and he loves us with “merciful kindness.” Just make sure that when you are doing God’s will, it’s in God’s time, not your own, or you will be missing out on the full benefit of His plan!