I have wondered what the wind in the mulberry tree sounds like. Palm trees sound like the ocean, and the birch trees in my backyard sound like home.  While not a nature lover of the highest degree, I do have an affinity for trees.  Their color, size, and height fascinate me.  I truly love the sound they make when the wind passes through them.

II Samuel 5 records the story of when David was told to wait until he heard the sound in the mulberry trees. I venture to the source of knowledge and confusion, YouTube, because I was looking for some insight into mulberry trees. To my utter surprise, I found a sermon by Spurgeon.  I, of course, listen to the sermon and was convicted by the man of God from so many years before.  I was so focused on the sound of the mulberry trees that I missed an important point. David was not asked to just wait for a sound, he was asked to wait for the sound in the top of the mulberry trees. A sound in the top of a tree means that something is moving or disturbing the branches, not wind passing through like I had originally thought. 

David was asked to wait on God, not charge ahead because he had a plan or a way to make it better.  No, David was asked to wait on God.  Spurgeon had a phrase during this sermon, “If Providence tarries, tarry till Providence comes.”  What a powerful and utterly frustrating statement.  What a truly needed statement. 

Waiting on God is no easy task.  Whether it be for a health issue, living situation—or well you can just fill in the blank—waiting is difficult, mind numbing, yet needful.  I do not know what you may need to wait on God for in your life, but I can guarantee there is something.  Why force a situation before you hear the sound or see the evidence of God’s preparing your path?  One of the many benefits of the Christian life is the ability to look back and see the hand of God working throughout it.  I know there have been times I have begged God for something only to thank Him more than a decade later for not giving me what I had asked.

Whatever the issue, can I encourage you to wait on God? Can you wait until you hear the sound in the top of the mulberry trees? As Spurgeon so wisely said, “If Providence tarries, tarry till Providence comes.”

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Miriam Chung, Christian School Teacher

Mrs. Chung grew up around the work of the ministry and now has the privilege of teaching at the North Valley Baptist Schools. She and her husband faithfully teach young people and are a vital asset to the ministry of NVBC.