Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Listening to God

1 Chronicles 14:13-14 (first part of 14)
Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley.
Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them;…”

Remember last Friday when we looked at when was ask God for advice, He says to go for it, and we do and we win? This just proves that God’s advice is like that of Dr. Phil’s: not applicable to all situations and we should consult a professional Counselor before proceeding with a plan.

So this time, God said don’t go up, that isn’t your job. But kind of like when God withholds a blessing, there’s something better in store for us later, that will work better for us and for God and His glory.

1 Chronicles 14:14-17
Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer. Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.

Before God said a, ‘Yeah, David, go ahead up, I’ll be with you’ kind of thing. But now, He’s saying ‘No, don’t do that. Here’s a better idea:’. God had a specific plan for each of these two occurrences. One time it was what David first wanted and planned to do, but the second time, God had a better idea, which David followed, and it worked.

Everybody knew about David after that, because he listened to God’s plans and followed them exactly, even when they weren’t his own. In this case, God’s plans were a lot harder and more specific (and probably difficult to remember) than David’s, but they worked.

God has plans for each of us (which we’ve said many times here). Sometimes, they fit into the first group: they’re what we want to do, what we were planning to do and just needed His approval, and He’ll be with us as we do it. But others, they fit into the second group: we ask for God’s approval, He says no and gives us a better idea, and He’ll be with that better idea. Then, of course, it’s up to us to choose if that path is ours or not. But when we’re deciding, think about how David was blessed for his great obedience.

In His Service,
Joyce

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