Introduction

Welcome back for week two of our series we started last week, “Wilderness.” Now, if you were here last week, you heard a little bit about this wilderness concept in scripture, especially the first aspect of the wilderness: testing.

We learned that even Jesus had a season in the wilderness, where He was tested. Satan came to Him and tried to trap Him in temptation and weakness, ultimately wanting to lead Him into sin. However, Jesus stood firm on the word of God. Jesus’ example reminds us that the word is powerful and effective for battling temptation.

The wilderness can often feel like a lonely place. We feel as if we are isolated and all alone. Jesus knew His Father was with Him. Jesus knew God had a plan for His life, but it would be enacted on the Father’s timetable in His own ways. And today, the same is true for us.

Today, we are going to look into a story all about being patient in the wilderness.

Illustration: Have everyone pull out their phones. Have them go to the search engine, search the same thing, and raise their hand when it has loaded. Make the point that we live in an “immediate” type of culture.

Because of things like our phones, we have the option to have many things in life immediately. Almost anything we need is at the push of a button and conveniently, arrives in 2 days or less.

But what if there is wisdom in the waiting? What if God intends to teach us something in our season of wilderness by granting us patience?

But what if there is wisdom in the waiting? What if God intends to teach us something in our season of wilderness by granting us patience?

Main Teaching

If you have a Bible with you, please turn with me to 1 Samuel 24. This is in the Old Testament, and we are going to look at the story of two key historical figures, Saul and David.

Now, at this time in scripture, David was chosen as the next king of Israel, but currently Saul is still in this position. Feeling as if David was coming for his spot, Saul tries to hunt David down to kill him. Our story picks up in verse 1, in the middle of this pursuit.

Read 1 Samuel 24:1-7

This story has a lot of moving pieces happening all at once. So, as we break it down together, here’s the first thing we have to realize about having patience in seasons of wilderness.

Patience Gives Perspective

Much of this life has to do with viewing our situation through the right lens.

Story: Talk about a time in your life when you experienced negative emotions because of the lens you viewed a situation through.

In this story, David chooses to see Saul’s pursuit of him through a specific lens ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium