Sunday January 31st, 2021
Memorize: 1 Samuel 30:8 New Living Translations (NLT)
« Then David asked the LORD, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” And the LORD told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” »
Read: 2 Samuel 5:17-25 New King James Versions (NKJV)
17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.
18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.
19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying,
“Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”
And the Lord said to David,
“Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said,
“The Lord has broken through my enemies before me,
like a breakthrough of water.”
Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.
21 And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.
22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.
23 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said,
“You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.
24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly.
For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
25 And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.
Message:
Many times, there are things that make common sense to us and we just want to go ahead and do them without asking God if we should or not.
Let us learn from David, a man who we find seeking God’s face for direction a lot of times in the Bible.
In 1 Samuel 30:1-8, David had just returned from battle to find out that his people had been attacked. All their belongings along with their wives and children had been taken by the enemy.
His soldiers who had lost everything they lived for were considering stoning him to death, but in the middle of all these, David took time to ask God if he should pursue the attackers.
In 2 Samuel 5:17-25, David asked God how he should attack the Philistines in war and God gave him a strategy that worked. After that, he was to face them in battle again and everything looked exactly like the previous one.
David still went back to ask God what to do.
You must never assume that you know what to do at any point in time.
Proverbs 3:5 ISV says:
« Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. »
Still learning from David, there were also times when he failed to seek God’s guidance before taking decisions and the results were woeful.
A classis example is the census of Israel the devil made him conduct (1 Chronicles 21) which brought God’s wrath upon the nation.
No matter how brilliant you are in your field of practice, always lean on God for what to do and what not to do.
Many people have made great mistakes that are still hurting them because they thought they were making the right move based on their professional assessments.
– When you get your salary at the end of the month, do you ask God what you should use the money for?
– When you are going out in the morning, do you ask Him what route to take?
– When you are about to have a business meeting or presentation, do you ask God for the right approach?
There is a lot to gain from always asking God for advice.
If you want to win in every area of your life, ask God for what to do per time.
Key point: Never assume that you know what to do; always ask God for direction.
Author: Pst E. A. Adeboye.
Text edited by Naomie
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