Psalms 33:20

It is hard to wait. Especially when trouble comes instead of a promise. But this is frequently the way God fulfills his plan. Waiting and trouble is no accident — it is purposed.

Consider the events leading to the fulfillment of Samuel’s prophetic anointing of David, a lowly shepherd boy, to become king of Israel.

In 1 Samuel 16:18, a servant of the current king, Saul, recommended young David as a remedy for Saul’s “torment from an evil spirit”: “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.”

David was summoned from the hillside pastures to play for the king, and as he did, the evil spirit left Saul…