There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David… – 2 Samuel 3:1, Amplified Bible

The microwave oven was invented in 1947 by a man named Percy Spencer, but the countertop microwave so common in American households today didn’t hit the market until 1967. Since then, Americans have lived in a “microwave culture” where instant access, instant answers, and instant results are expected and demanded from almost all areas of life.

We Christians often apply this same “microwave mentality” to the promises of God. Accustomed to hitting a button and having dinner ready in a matter of moments, we pray to our Lord with the anticipation that we’ll have the answers to our prayers in short order. When the answers don’t come immediately, we get antsy, and we may question God’s intentions. We need not questions God’s intentions, though, for His intention is always to keep His promises. But the timing is something we cannot be sure of, and we need to be aware that it may take awhile before we can possess that which we’ve been promised. David was a teenager when Samuel anointed him king over Israel, but David did not become king of Judah until age thirty, nor did he become king of the rest of Israel until age thirty-seven. Not only did David have to wait upwards of twenty years for God to fulfill His promise, he had to fight for his life and for his kingdom, wrapping up the struggle with a long war against Saul’s house.

Some things God will give us now and through no effort of our own. Other things we must work for and wait for patiently. We’ll never know which promises will be swift and easy and which ones will be long in coming and hard-earned. But either way, we can rest assured that as long as we obey The Lord and are faithful to His way, He will not fail to deliver on His promises!