Part 3: The Test Of Honor Under Delay Series

When the Door Opens Before the Time

Here's the moment every person in a waiting season dreams about.

The enemy who has been chasing you? Vulnerable. The person standing between you and your destiny? Exposed. The obstacle that's been in your way for years? Completely defenseless.

And you have power. You have opportunity. You have witnesses who will call it justified. You have people around you saying, "This is your moment. This is God. Take it."

David experiences this. Twice.

After everything we've covered: after the anointing, after the palace rejection, after the cave, after leading broken people, after years of running and hiding and waiting. Saul walks into David's hands.

Not once. Twice.

And both times, David refuses to take what he could easily seize.

This is where most people fail the test. Not in the cave. Not in obscurity. Not in suffering. People fail when opportunity arrives before appointment. People fail when they can justify doing the wrong thing for the right reason. People fail when the door opens, but it's not God who opened it.

Today we're talking about the hardest test of the waiting season: the test of honor under delay.

Because here's the truth nobody wants to hear: Delay is God's test of whether we can be trusted with power before we possess it.

OPPORTUNITY THAT LOOKS LIKE GOD

The Right Destination with the Wrong Map

Let's set the scene.

David is hiding in the cave at En Gedi. It's a massive cave system: deep, dark, with multiple chambers. David and his men are far back in the cave, concealed in the shadows.

And then Saul enters alone. The king who has been hunting David for years. The king who has tried to kill him repeatedly. The king standing between David and the throne God promised him.

Saul enters the cave to relieve himself. He's completely vulnerable. Completely unaware. Completely exposed.

And David's men see it. And they say something that sounds spiritual:

"This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" (1 Samuel 24:4)

Read that carefully. They're quoting God. They're saying, "God told you this would happen. This is the fulfillment of prophecy. This is divine orchestration."

But here's the problem. God never said those words.

Go back through Scripture. Search every conversation between God and David up to this point. God never said, "I will give Saul into your hands." The men are creating theology to justify opportunity.

This is dangerous. This is one of the most dangerous moments in the waiting season.

Not every open door is a divine command.

Sometimes doors open because of timing, not because of God's approval. Sometimes doors open because of human circumstances, not divine orchestration. Sometimes doors open to test whether you'll walk through them or wait for God to officially invite you in.

And here's what makes it even harder. The opportunity looks like God. It feels like God. It sounds like God. People around you are confirming it sounds like God.

But opportunity can be a louder voice than obedience.

David's men are saying, "This is obviously God. Look at the circumstances. Look at the timing. Look at how perfectly this worked out. Saul just happens to enter your cave? That's not coincidence. That's providence."

And they're partially right. It is providence. God did orchestrate the moment.

But providence doesn't always mean permission.

God will test you by giving you access to something before giving you authorization to take it.

Now here's the insight that changes everything about how we understand this moment.

Saul entering that cave was an open door. But it was a door to the wrong version of the future.

God had promised David a throne. That part was settled. David was going to be king. The destination was clear.

But there are multiple routes to the same destination. And the route matters.

If David had killed Saul in that cave, he would have reached the throne. But it would have been a throne of blood. It would have been a throne built on assassination. It would have been a throne born out of murder and manipulation.

God had promised David a throne of peace. A throne given by divine timing. A throne that came through honor, not horror.

Same destination. Different map.

And here's the principle: When you use the devil's map to get to God's destination, you've already lost.

You might arrive at the place God promised, but you'll arrive as the wrong version of yourself. You might get the position, but you won't have the character to sustain it. You might reach the throne, but it will be built on a foundation that will eventually collapse.

The door was real. The opportunity was real. The throne was real.