In 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17, we read about a time when David made a bold plan to serve the Lord. He wanted to build a temple - a permanent place where the Lord would be worshiped.
What a wonderful goal this was! Even Nathan the prophet immediately confirmed the plan, saying, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you" (1 Sam. 7:3).
Then something changed. The Lord appeared to Nathan and told him to tell David, "No." God had given David many blessings, and throughout history since we have seen those blessings unfold. But the privilege of building a temple would not go to David. David had a great plan, but God said, "No."
As I ponder this, I think about all the times I think of something great I want to do to please God. I have big dreams, and in my heart I truly want to honor the Lord - this is good and right. But sometimes as I set out in one direction or another, I hear the Lord say, "No." Sometimes it startles me. Sometimes I am tempted to protest - to defend my plan - to tell the Lord what a good idea it was, because surely He didn't understand it fully before giving a negative answer. This may seem silly, but this is how my mind works (and perhaps yours does as well).
David accepted God's "No." I am wise when I do the same.
As we read in Proverbs, "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand" (19:21, see also 16:1 and 16:9). In James we read that we "ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that'" (4:15). We can plan - and we should plan - but those plans should always be subject to the leading of the Lord. God's ways are truly best!
Showing posts with label Dependence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dependence. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Danger of Being Impatient with God's Timing
We read of two specific failures of King Saul that led him to fall outside of God's blessing. One is recorded in 1 Samuel 13. Saul is facing an angry Philistine army, and his own soldiers are so scared that they are hiding in caves, rocks, tombs, and cisterns (13:6). Saul is encamped in Gilgal, and has called for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices to the Lord.
Then we read these words in verses 8-14:
[Saul] waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings." And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.' So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart...because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."
Saul grew impatient with God's timing, and took matters into his own hands. His intentions may have been okay--he wanted to offer sacrifices to the Lord, time was getting short, and the prophet didn't come on time. But only a prophet/priest is authorized to offer sacrifices; that is not the place of the king. Saul should have waited, and trusted the Lord during the wait.
Rushing God's timing, offering a sacrifice by his own hand, turned out to be one of two sins that cost Saul his crown (the other is recorded in 1 Samuel 15). The consequence seems harsh, but whenever one of God's appointed leaders disobeys Him, it's a big deal.
As I read this, I think of the times I have grown impatient with God's timing. Several times I have been tempted to rush headlong into whatever course of action I thought was best, before I patiently waited for God's direction. I have successfully fought this temptation many times, but I have also failed at times and gotten ahead of the Lord's perfect plan AND perfect timing.
A good friend once told me that when we seek the Lord's will, He will always show us. So the only way we can mess things up is to rush into something. That is good advice which I have passed along to many others over the years.
Yes, we have to beware of the opposite extreme as well. Sometimes we can wait too long and delay obeying the Lord after He has spoken, and in these cases we just need to get up immediately and go where He has led.
But as for me, my greater problem is patiently waiting for the Lord's timing. I understand Saul's impatience and his fall into sin in this passage. In our culture we are not good at waiting, which is why we have microwave meals, instant messages/text messages, and so many other things that require little time or patience. (Have you ever gotten frustrated when a friend didn't text you back within fifteen seconds?)
In contrast, with the Lord, we often need to wait a bit longer than we think we "should." David waited years between being anointed king and actually sitting on the throne. Moses waited decades between God's call and the time he actually confronted Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Sarai, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, and many others waited excruciatingly long for children. But...oh, the blessings of doing things God's way! God is always at work on behalf of His people, when we patiently wait for Him.
If you, like me, have trouble waiting on the Lord, take time to read and meditate on these most excellent scriptures:
Isaiah 64:4
Psalm 104:27-28
Psalm 130:5-6
Isaiah 30:18
Isaiah 40:28-31
As we wait on the Lord, we will know His greatest blessings in our lives. The waiting place is a good place to be, because we know the Lord has a most perfect and wonderful plan for each of us as His children.
Then we read these words in verses 8-14:
[Saul] waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings." And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.' So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart...because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."
Saul grew impatient with God's timing, and took matters into his own hands. His intentions may have been okay--he wanted to offer sacrifices to the Lord, time was getting short, and the prophet didn't come on time. But only a prophet/priest is authorized to offer sacrifices; that is not the place of the king. Saul should have waited, and trusted the Lord during the wait.
Rushing God's timing, offering a sacrifice by his own hand, turned out to be one of two sins that cost Saul his crown (the other is recorded in 1 Samuel 15). The consequence seems harsh, but whenever one of God's appointed leaders disobeys Him, it's a big deal.
As I read this, I think of the times I have grown impatient with God's timing. Several times I have been tempted to rush headlong into whatever course of action I thought was best, before I patiently waited for God's direction. I have successfully fought this temptation many times, but I have also failed at times and gotten ahead of the Lord's perfect plan AND perfect timing.
A good friend once told me that when we seek the Lord's will, He will always show us. So the only way we can mess things up is to rush into something. That is good advice which I have passed along to many others over the years.
Yes, we have to beware of the opposite extreme as well. Sometimes we can wait too long and delay obeying the Lord after He has spoken, and in these cases we just need to get up immediately and go where He has led.
But as for me, my greater problem is patiently waiting for the Lord's timing. I understand Saul's impatience and his fall into sin in this passage. In our culture we are not good at waiting, which is why we have microwave meals, instant messages/text messages, and so many other things that require little time or patience. (Have you ever gotten frustrated when a friend didn't text you back within fifteen seconds?)
In contrast, with the Lord, we often need to wait a bit longer than we think we "should." David waited years between being anointed king and actually sitting on the throne. Moses waited decades between God's call and the time he actually confronted Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Sarai, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, and many others waited excruciatingly long for children. But...oh, the blessings of doing things God's way! God is always at work on behalf of His people, when we patiently wait for Him.
If you, like me, have trouble waiting on the Lord, take time to read and meditate on these most excellent scriptures:
Psalm 25:4-5
Psalm 27:14
Psalm 37:7-9
Psalm 40:1-3
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-7Isaiah 64:4
Psalm 104:27-28
Psalm 130:5-6
Isaiah 30:18
Isaiah 40:28-31
As we wait on the Lord, we will know His greatest blessings in our lives. The waiting place is a good place to be, because we know the Lord has a most perfect and wonderful plan for each of us as His children.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Can You Help Me?
This summer at family camp, my 2 1/2 year old again climbed to the top bunk. Kristin and I were nervous every time she was up there. Several times during the week she had climbed to that same bunk bed, and we had to help her down every time.
This particular time I asked, "Sweetie, do you want me to help you back down?"
With confidence she replied, "I wanna get down ALL BY MYSELF!" Without a moment's pause, she followed with a much more humble, "Can you help me?"
Kristin and I laughed at the contrast, and of course, helped her down.
We tend to live our lives in fierce independence. After all, our society most often values people who are self-sufficient, capable, and successful. At the same time, our society tends to ignore or look down upon those who cannot do for themselves and always have to ask for help. Think of your own friendships: to whom are you most often drawn...the strong and successful, or the weak and needy?
Independence is not a bad thing in and of itself. We should seek to live lives that contribute to the world around us, not drain its resources for ourselves.
But independence is deadly when we bring it into our relationship with the Lord. In our relationship with the Lord, we must strive for dependence. Not "I wanna do it by myself," but "I need You."
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus talks about this kind of dependence. Verse 33 tells us, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [the daily needs of life] will be added to you." We spend so much of our lives chasing after things in the world...even good things that we legitimately need. But Jesus up-ends our priorities and tells us that dependence on the Lord is the most important priority above any of these other needs.
Psalm 37:3-7 remind us also of dependence. Verses 4 and 5 say, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act."
Proverbs 3:5-6 say this: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths."
The theme of these verses, and really of the whole of scripture, is that we are to depend fully on the Lord. It goes against our natural instincts AND against the world around us, and I am finding it to be a lifelong battle to keep a heart of true dependence on Him. It's not that I don't want to be fully devoted to the Lord, but my independent spirit gets in the way so often. Yet true joy, true peace, true fruitfulness...these only come when I am fully dependent on the Lord, seeking Him first and foremost above every other thing in life.
How about you? How are you doing in expressing your utter dependence on the Lord every moment of every day? Are you asking Him, "Can You help me?"
May God give us grace to deny ourselves (Luke 9:23) and depend on Him completely!
This particular time I asked, "Sweetie, do you want me to help you back down?"
With confidence she replied, "I wanna get down ALL BY MYSELF!" Without a moment's pause, she followed with a much more humble, "Can you help me?"
Kristin and I laughed at the contrast, and of course, helped her down.
We tend to live our lives in fierce independence. After all, our society most often values people who are self-sufficient, capable, and successful. At the same time, our society tends to ignore or look down upon those who cannot do for themselves and always have to ask for help. Think of your own friendships: to whom are you most often drawn...the strong and successful, or the weak and needy?
Independence is not a bad thing in and of itself. We should seek to live lives that contribute to the world around us, not drain its resources for ourselves.
But independence is deadly when we bring it into our relationship with the Lord. In our relationship with the Lord, we must strive for dependence. Not "I wanna do it by myself," but "I need You."
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus talks about this kind of dependence. Verse 33 tells us, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [the daily needs of life] will be added to you." We spend so much of our lives chasing after things in the world...even good things that we legitimately need. But Jesus up-ends our priorities and tells us that dependence on the Lord is the most important priority above any of these other needs.
Psalm 37:3-7 remind us also of dependence. Verses 4 and 5 say, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act."
Proverbs 3:5-6 say this: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths."
The theme of these verses, and really of the whole of scripture, is that we are to depend fully on the Lord. It goes against our natural instincts AND against the world around us, and I am finding it to be a lifelong battle to keep a heart of true dependence on Him. It's not that I don't want to be fully devoted to the Lord, but my independent spirit gets in the way so often. Yet true joy, true peace, true fruitfulness...these only come when I am fully dependent on the Lord, seeking Him first and foremost above every other thing in life.
How about you? How are you doing in expressing your utter dependence on the Lord every moment of every day? Are you asking Him, "Can You help me?"
May God give us grace to deny ourselves (Luke 9:23) and depend on Him completely!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)