Were you aware that studies have shown that a significant number of lottery winners experience financial difficulties? For example, a study conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that nearly 70% of lottery winners end up bankrupt within a few years.

These were people who were blessed with an inordinate amount of money at one moment in time. They went from a lower economic standing to one of the wealthiest.  Sadly, they were not prepared for such a blessing.

There is a reason that sometimes an amazing, bountiful promise from God intended to bless a child of God takes time to appear. Take King David in the Bible as an example. His story teaches us the value of patience in waiting for God’s promises to manifest.

From the moment Samuel anointed David king to the moment David actually became king, there was a period of about 14 years. David was a teen when Samuel anointed him, but he was 30 years old when he actually became recognized as the king.

Things needed to be developed in David’s character to prepare him to be the king God knew he could be.  These things would involve time, experiences, mistakes, and successes, all meant to shape David into the man he needed to be in order to rule and reign as king.

In other words, David needed to mature even though his heart was good before God and his motives were approved of by God; David needed to mature in order to rule and reign effectively as God desired him to.

Another great example of this is Ahimaaz in the Bible.  Ahimaaz was a fast runner and was assigned along with another runner as someone who would take information from the battlefield to King David when ordered to do so.  But this time, the King’s beloved son Absalom had been killed because of his rebellion, and such news required diplomacy and tact and needed to come from a different source than that of Ahimaaz.

Joab, the commander of the troops, dispatched a trusted Cushite to take the news to the king. But Ahimaaz kept coming to Joab, asking to run to the king.  In other words, Ahimaaz was eager to do what he thought he was assigned to do, but he had no discernment regarding his level of understanding of it.  Eventually, Joab gave in to his request to get him out of his hair.

Ahimaaz took off like a streak of lightning and actually outran the Cushite to get to David.  When they announced that a runner was approaching, David commanded that they allow him entry before the throne.  This was a big moment for Ahimaaz. It was what he had desired all this time.  So they brought him in quickly before King David, and David asked him, “What news do you have of my son Absalom?”  Ahimaaz spoke of how there was a great battle with much fighting, and the enemies of the king were killed, but Ahimaaz had no specific news of Absalom.  Just then, they announced another runner arriving, and David had them bring him before him.  When David asked of his son Absalom from this runner, he answered, “Oh King, may it be of all your enemies as it is of your son Absalom who has fallen on this day.”  Scripture tells us that David was moved in his heart and wept bitterly.

Preparation and timing matter, especially when it comes to entering into God’s promises concerning our calling, our present, and our future. If all of His promises were to manifest immediately, we would not be prepared to embrace them and steward them well. Are you preparing to receive and walk in what He has promised you?