Are You in an ‘Almost But Not Yet’ Season?

In 1 Samuel 16, David was anointed King of Israel by the Lord, in the place of King Saul who had been rejected by the Lord. However, King David had to go through a season of waiting and preparation for fifteen years before he was able to publicly take his place as king.

In 1 Samuel 24, David got an opportunity to strike down Saul from his position in order take his place as king.

“Look, this is the day the Lord told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’ Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him… He said to his men, ‘I swear before the Lord: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him since he is the Lord’s anointed. With these words David persuaded his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul.” – 1 Samuel 24: 4-7.

Like an unripe piece of fruit on a tree, or a budding flower on a bush, just because what God has promised you is within your reach, does not mean it is ripe for picking. You might have received a promise from the Lord, but it does not mean that God has released you to walk into it yet. Although you see the promise coming closer and closer into fruition, it does not mean you should manifest it in your own will and in your own strength. You can trust the Lord and rest in Him that He will bring to pass all what He said that He will do. “Not one of all of the Lord’s good promises to Israel have failed; not one has failed.”– Joshua 21:45.

Have you ever found yourself in this same type of “almost but not yet” season? A time when your breakthrough seems so close it is right at your fingertips, but deep down, you knew that it wasn’t your time yet. A time where you do not have the peace, clarity, and permission from God to stand in the place He has for you, because there are things that need to happen first. A time where you yearned to do something so badly you could taste it, but you know that if you were to do it at this moment, that you would uproot what has already been planted. A time where you know that taking what you believe God gave to you would not be pleasing to Him, because you’d have to sin in order to get it. A time where you knew that if you waited on God a little bit longer, then everything would fall into place on a firm, established foundation.

David knew what God had planned for him, but he didn’t take matters in his own hands. Even though David ended up in the same cave as a jealous Saul and it appeared as though God had orchestrated this encounter for David to take down Saul, David knew God’s commands to respect the leaders that were already in place and chose to obey those commands. David’s breakthrough to become King of Israel was right at his fingertips, but David would not take it until God clearly released him to do so.

Had David decided to assassinate Saul, he likely would have set a precedent to have been assassinated himself when he took the throne as king. He also would have likely cheated himself of certain preparations that needed to happen that would have been crucial for his leadership. Furthermore, David would have sinned to become king by assassinating the current leader. (And is it really a blessing from God if you had to sin to get it?)

There is a time and a season for everything under the sun, and you can trust that whatever God has meant to be yours will not pass you by in due season. You can trust that He will place you in proper position to receive your promise at the proper time. You can trust that He will go before you to bring everything He has for you to pass. David was a man of God and trusted God’s timing, and eventually, began his reign as king over Israel in 2 Samuel 5. Eventually you will walk into your promised season too and receive all that God has for you as well.