2 Sam 18 - Timing is Everything

There is a time for everything. Although we may have a desire to be a part of every adventure, we may feel a responsibility to always lead from the front, a need to personally invest in every battle with those who are going through adversity, or a desire to “fix” everything we see out of line… we simply cannot do everything ourselves. And it's not always best if we're the one's to do it.

There is a time for everything.

“But the men said, "You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city."

The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you." 
- 2 Samuel 18:3-4

This is in stark contrast to the problem with David in 2 Samuel 11. Then, David stayed back when he should have gone. He was neglecting his role in leadership. And we know the landslide that followed that act of negligence.

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.” – 2 Samuel 11:1

In chapter 18, it is best for David to stay back. This time, to go, would be neglecting his role in leadership. There is a time for everything. How do we know when it’s time? I think the answer (or part of it) may lie in David’s response in verse 4. He says, “I will do whatever seems best to you.”

This not only reflects a willingness to do what’s best for others, but also comes with a certain level of humility and a posture willing to receive counsel. This seems to be a pattern with David at this phase in his journey. Maybe that is the exact attitude we need to have in order to know God’s timing and to trust that it really doesn’t all depend on us, or our abilities.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.” –Ecclesiastes 3:1-14