Shortcut?
by J. R. Miller
I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed.
(1 Samuel 24:10)
David seemed now to have a short, quick way to the kingdom, but he would not dare to take it. Now the throne was Saul’s—he was the Lord’s anointed. David would not lift a finger to hurry God’s providence, and to become king before God made him king. There often are things that God intends to give us–but which we must wait to receive in his way. Short-cuts in life’s paths are always mistakes in the end. Jacob’s mother knew that Jacob was to have the blessing of the firstborn, but if she had waited it would have come to him without being stained, as it was by her own and Jacob’s deception.
Young men are ambitious, and their ambition may be right; but too often they are in such feverish haste to reach what they wish that they take the shortcut of dishonesty to get the sooner to the coveted place. It never pays. David could have been on the throne the next day, but he would have left stains of guilt on the steps as he ascended; it was better far for him to wander on in exile for a time longer, and then reach the throne by a clean path. It is pleasant to see young men get on in life; but we must always ask how they have gotten on, to know whether their elevation is really an honor. The only way to true success is God’s way. We must learn to wait for God.
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