Right Intention, Wrong Approach

"They moved the ark of God 

from Abinadab's house on a new cart,

with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it.

David and all the Israelites were celebrating

with all their might before God,

with songs and with harps, lyres,

timbrels, cymbals and trumpets."

1 Chronicles 13:7-8

They did not lack for enthusiasm.  David was pumped.  His people were equally as excited.  The ark, a symbol of God's very presence, was returning to Jerusalem!  This was a day to celebrate!

In his zeal to do what seemed good, David failed to take his duty seriously, plunging forward in the best way he knew how.  Instead of consulting God's instructions on how he wanted the ark to be carried, he focused on getting the job done (Exodus 25:14-15, Numbers 4:15, Numbers 7:6-9).  His exuberance, however, did not make up for his neglect.  As a result, a man lost his life that day (2 Samuel 6:6-7).

In living my life, I would be wise to learn from David's mistake and in so doing, avoid dishonoring God.

Plunge Ahead.  I answer the call and am filled with passion and enthusiasm for this new mission.  I can't wait to begin serving in the area God has placed on my heart.  Instead of waiting on the Lord's timing, however, it's easy to plunge ahead without Him.

In God's kingdom, it is not up to me to make things happen.  Instead, I am entirely dependent upon Him for the timetable, abilities, strength and know-how.  My job is to simply submit to His lordship.  While I say "simply," it's not always so easy to let God lead.

After all, I may have done something like this before and assume God wants me to use my past experience to accomplish this new task.  Instead of waiting for His go-ahead, then, I run ahead of Him, spinning my wheels in the frustration that comes apart from His favor.

Or, it may seem obvious what God wants me to do and how He would have me begin such a task.  Instead of seeking His guidance, then, I rashly move forward in my own understanding.

Or, it could be that I see the good that will come from this ministry and witness deep suffering that could be alleviated.  In my desire to ease the pain felt by others, I rush forward, coming up with a plan that seems right to me.  Unfortunately, I completely missed the point as I separated myself from the Vine (John 15:5-6).

When plunging ahead, I risk offending God in my enthusiasm to work for God instead of with Him.

Forsake Insight.  I have my own way of doing things, but as I've learned over the years, my way is not always the best way.  In God's kingdom, how something is done counts.  It's not just a matter of getting the job done, but in learning to cooperate with what God is already doing.

Therefore, my connection to the Source of my supply is of the utmost importance.  It's not enough to go through the motions or even accomplish a task well if God is not even considered as the architect of the master plan.  David found this out the hard way, and I am at risk of doing the same.

Instead of focusing on completing the task that lies before me, then, it is my relationship with Jesus that really counts.  If I keep my eyes on Him, I won't lose sight of my Guide as He leads me through each step, showing me how He wants the job done.  Once I get distracted, focusing on something else, I'll lose track of my Shepherd and likely stray of the path.

When forsaking insight, I risk offending God in my zeal to finish the job even if it means doing it without Him.

Result Driven.  Statistics.  Numbers.  Improvement.  I often look for some kind of positive sign that proves my efforts are making a difference.  How many lives have been touched?  Who has seen growth in their faith?  What is the number of professions of faith due to this ministry?  These are the kinds of questions I ask myself.  In my mind, results equals success.

In God's Kingdom, however, obedience rules supreme.  My heart is what really matters to Him.  Therefore, if He asks me to do something, I am to do it with all my heart simply because He asked.  Instead of focusing on my legacy, the impact I am making or whether or not I'm making a difference, I can pay attention to how I am pleasing God in my faithfulness to His calling.

Since God is the all-knowing One, only He knows the impact of my obedience.  Trusting Him enough to continue to labor with Him, then, is all that counts.  Adoniram Judson seems to have understood this concept well.  He answered God's call to the mission field but after being blocked from entering India and finally finding an open door in Burma, he suffered isolation, the loss of his first child, and 6 years of work without one soul won for Christ.

If this missionary had given up due to lack of results, 200,000 Burmese would not have come to know Christ and the people of Burma would not have the benefit of reading God's Word in their own language.  Judson's love for the Lord and dedication to His calling gave the man the tenacity to hang on in the face of difficulty.

When letting results be my inspiration, I risk offending God when the outcome is more important than my love for Him.

It's easy to get off track when I'm excited!  When my zeal is what empowers me, I tend to plunge ahead, forsaking His insight and focusing on what comes out of my labors.  Then I end up like David, having the right intention but using the wrong approach.  May my zeal for loving Jesus be my only driving force!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I not forsake my first Love.

How is it easy to focus on the plan instead of the Planner?

When do I often run ahead in my zeal to impress God by my dedication and trustworthiness?       

Who Can Stand?

"But the LORD killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh

because they looked into the Ark of the LORD.

And the people mourned greatly because 

of what the LORD had done.

'Who is able to stand in the presence of the LORD,

this holy God?'  they cried out.

'Where can we send the Ark from here?'"

1 Samuel 6:19-20 NLT

They were overjoyed at the sight of the ark.  One minute they were harvesting in the fields, bent over in their labor, the next they were rejoicing, lifting their hands to the heavens.  How did the ark get here?  How could these cows have delivered it, going against instinct and leaving behind their calves?  It is a miracle!  God has brought His ark of the covenant back to His people! 

As the men of Beth-shemesh prepared the sacrifice, they marveled at the fact that the Lord had not only brought the ark back to the land of His people, but specifically to a priestly town where it would be handled properly. (Joshua 21:16) They rejoiced in His providence.  Unfortunately, in their exuberance and perhaps curiosity, some of these men who knew better forgot that God is holy and to be revered.  They violated this symbol of His presence by looking upon the ark with their lowly eyes. (Numbers 4:5,20)  Not to let this attitude be overlooked, God struck the offenders down, providing a sober reminder of His holiness and their unworthiness.

It is easy to get comfortable with God.  The more I get to know Him, the closer I grow, drawing near as I learn about His role as my loving Father who extends mercy and grace through the blood of His Son, Jesus.  Sometimes, however, I become so at ease around Him that I forget His holy nature.  In order to help me cultivate a healthy respect for Him, then, there are some qualities that God will develop in me as I cooperate with the ongoing transformation process.

Humbleness

He was said to be the most humble man on the face of the earth.  When it came to his own honor, he easily let criticism pass. (Numbers 12:2)  If God's reputation were disrespected, however, he was passionate, to say the least, ready to defend His holy name. (Exodus 32:19-20)  Moses understood how he fit into the scheme of things, with God being the One to deserve all glory and honor.

If I am to similarly recognize the holiness of God as I live in tandem with Him, I must become less and He must become more.  As I grow closer, His perfect nature will become more apparent and my own wretchedness will be made plain.  In this way, I am being humbled.

Sometimes it takes a life-threatening illness to burn out the impurity of my own pride.  When I hold even the most elementary of beliefs that there is some good within me or that I am capable of doing something worthwhile apart from Him, I am in danger of minimizing God's holiness.  God will do what it takes to show me how dependent upon Him I am.

Other times He will take away His favor, showing me how wretched a creature am I.  When I start to harbor feelings of self-satisfaction, wrongly believing I'm pretty good at this thing we call the Christian life, I am in danger of minimizing God's holiness.  It then takes a wake-up call from God to remind me of how hopeless I am without Him.

Then there are times when God may give me what I selfishly want, vividly illustrating the futility of following my own path.  When I desire my way over God's, I am in danger of minimizing God's holiness.  He has His own method of showing me just how foolish are my plans and how far superior are His.

As I go through life, God will humble me in ways that reveals more and more of His holy nature.

Reverence

He did exactly as God told him to do even though he didn't understand it.  Despite his inability to figure out how God would conquer the great walled city, this leader passed on the instructions precisely as God had given them to him.  The priests were given their peculiar marching orders.  The people knew what they must do.  Despite the fact that the people might think he was nuts, Joshua did exactly as God had commanded him to do. (Joshua 6) 

As familiar as the story of Joshua and the fall of Jericho might be, I may not have realized the reverence Joshua held for God.  He respected Him enough to obey His orders without feeling the need to understand what God was doing or how in the world walking around the city would result in victory.  Instead, he simply did as he was told.  His obedience revealed a level of respect for God of which I need.

It reminds me of the broken speedometer in my vehicle.  Even though I can gauge my speed by how fast others are driving, I still want to know the exact reading.  Similarly, it's hard for me to trust in something I don't fully understand.  If I am to put my faith in a God whose ways are so far superior to mine, then, I will need to accept the fact that His ways are unfathomable. (Isaiah 55:8-9)  It is impossible for me to understand His purposes and plans.  (Romans 11:33)  I cannot expect to be able to uncover the mysteries of His mind.  (Job 5:9, Psalm 139:6)  Instead, I am to revere God enough to do as He says.

As I go through life, God will develop in me a reverence for His unsearchable ways.

Submissiveness

He did as he was told without question.  When God said to leave the only home he ever knew and the family he loved so much, he did so, not finding it necessary to know where they would end up.  (Genesis 12)  Later, when the Lord instructed him to sacrifice his only son, he responded in obedience. (Genesis 22)  Abraham was a man who submitted to the authority of God in his life.

Unfortunately for me, my will is strong.  In order to yield to God's will, mine must be weakened.  In other words, I must come to the point where His ways become more important to me than mine.  Then I will more easily heed His teachings, taking them seriously.  Up until then, I might brush His wisdom aside as optional or voluntary.  Once I see the connection between my love for Him and my willingness to do as He says, I'll leave behind my rebellious ways and become more submissive to His.

It reminds me of a company I hired to care for my lawn.  When they first showed up to do the job, I met them in the driveway so I could show them the boundaries of our yard and express what I expected.  As I spoke, the man on the lawn mower jumped off the machine and walked along the edge of our yard, asking questions to better understand where he was to mow.  I appreciated his attention to detail and his desire to take my instructions seriously.

This is what God wants from me, an earnest desire to do as He says and to take His Word seriously.  Whatever He reveals to me should be held as precious, so much so that I respond immediately, taking the teaching to heart and letting Him use His own Word to change my behaviors, thoughts and habits.  When I make myself like a pliable lump of clay, God can mold me into the woman He created me to be.  When I stubbornly insist on my way, hardening my heart in fear or obstinacy, I will stay as I am.

As I go through life, God will shape me into a submissive child who takes her Father's instructions seriously.

It is easy to get too comfortable with God, thinking of Him as if He were like me.  In such a mindset, I am in danger of offending the holy nature of God.  As I cooperate with His sanctifying work in my life, I will become more humble, develop a reverence for Him and learn submissiveness.  In these ways, I will truly understand that no one can stand before such a holy God:  Only He is worthy to be praised.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep God's holiness in mind as I let Him have His way in my life.

When do I treat God almost like a servant, expecting Him to do my bidding?

How do I offend His holiness in the flippant way I deal with Him or talk about Him?  Do I say His name with reverence?   

God Will Get His Glory

"Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple

and set it beside Dagon.

When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day,

there was Dagon,

fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD!

They took Dagon and put him back in his place.

But the following morning when they rose,

there was Dagon,

fallen on his face on the ground 

before the ark of the LORD!

His head and hands had been broken off

and were lying on the threshold;

only his body remained."

1 Samuel 5:2-4

Legalization of Abortion.

Laws making divorce easy.

Campaign to encourage gender equality which led to the blurring of God-given gender roles and gender confusion.

Rejection of the Ten Commandments as the foundation of the judicial system.

Euthanasia deemed as a right. 

Legalization of gay marriage.

These are examples of ways that God is being dishonored in our modern society.  America, however, is not the first to offend God and His holy standards.  The Philistines also did so when they placed the ark of the covenant, the very symbol of God's presence, in the temple of a false god.  As the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, made sure to get the glory from the Philistine's god, so He will do the same today.

In His Way

She spent her nights roaming through the darkened house, unable to sleep as the questions floated through her mind.  What did I do to deserve such a devastating loss?  Why did God not warn me of the impending danger?  What did I do wrong?  What more could I have done to protect my daughter?  Why did my precious child have to die?

As my friend worked through the grief, anger and guilt that came with losing her teenage daughter to a kidnapper and killer, she came to a startling conclusion that answered every question:  I can't tell God how to get His glory.  

While He is not the author of evil, God has promised to work every hard thing in our lives into a beautiful tapestry, using each difficulty as a tool to conform us into the image of His Son. (Romans 8:28-29) In so doing, people will give their praises to God for the great things He does.

There are times in my own life when, looking back, I can see how God found a way to get glory in ways I would have never dreamed.   The time of involuntary separation renewed the fondness in my heart for my husband, making our marriage a testimony of God's love dispensed to a broken people.  Walking through the financial desert presented countless opportunities for God to provide in ways that can only be attributed to Him.  The faulty gauges on our vehicle were transformed from an inconvenience to a teaching tool, showing me how much I tend to walk by sight instead of by faith.  Only God could accomplish such feats.

In my grieving friend's life, her tragedy has given many people touched by her loss the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ as they joined her to celebrate her daughter's short life.  This hurting mother has also been given an often unwelcome platform, giving her the opportunity to spread the reason for the hope she has in Christ.  Because so many sympathize with her plight, they will listen to the words of life that come out of her pain.

God will always get the glory for the things He has done, but it is His decision as to how that will come about.

In His Time

I ordered the pizza online and before I had time to set the table, the delicious dinner was delivered to my door.  I live in a fast-food culture where I have come to expect everything to come as quickly as this meal in a box.  I want my problems to be resolved immediately, my health to be restored with minimal suffering, and any strained relationships to be returned to normal as soon as possible.

God, however, has His own timetable and He is never slow. (2 Peter 3:9) While I may think those who do evil are getting away with their dark deeds, I can be assured that God in His sovereignty will bring about justice.  The only question is when it will be dispensed; now in this present age, or at the time when each of us must stand before a holy and righteous God.  (Isaiah 45:22-25)  

Every sin will be accounted for; either by the one who committed the sin, or by the One who never sinned.  Those who rejected Christ will bear the punishment of their own sins, while those who accepted Jesus and His free offer of salvation will be liberated from such a death sentence by the blood of Jesus.  Either way, the holy justice of God is served.

Therefore, I cannot expect this justice to be delivered now.  Instead, it must come in accordance with God's perfect timing.  It takes faith to trust God when evil men are freed by human judges, seemingly getting away with murder.  Knowing that God does not let anything slide, I can trust Him to bring about the right sentence in a way that brings glory to Him.  

It takes faith to trust God when it seems like darkness if overtaking the light.  Remembering that God has a plan I know nothing about and that only He knows how every piece will fit together can bolster my faith.  Trusting Him for the timetable will mean I can wait with the assurance that His justice will prevail.

It takes faith to trust God when it looks to me like the culture is leading so many away from the Truth.  Resting in the knowledge that God is constantly going after His children, despite the lure of the Evil One sets my mind at ease.  After all, who can resist His loving pursuit?

God will always get the glory for the great things He has done, but it is His decision as to when that will come about.

For His Purposes

I didn't know there was a plan they were following.  Instead, I thought my parents just came up with a meal according to what they felt like cooking that day.  While I was ignorant as a child of the necessity to plan ahead when it came to meals, I sometimes take this same tack with God, thinking there is no master plan.

Therefore, I come up with my own, making decisions based on what I think is best.  Or, I follow the lead of my heart, doing what feels right to me.  Or, I take the advice of those who seem smarter than me, following the expert's plan for my life.  In each case, I am forgetting that God has a purpose for every thing and that there is a right time for every activity I am considering doing.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

This means that if I follow Him, I will find that there is a method to what sometimes seems like madness.  When everything looks like its unraveling, I find that my earthly perspective is not allowing me to see the beauty God is creating with the broken threads of my life. (Isaiah 61:3) When pain is my constant companion and I wonder why God would take me through such times of suffering, I find a peace I would never otherwise discover as He comforts me as only He can. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) When nothing makes sense to my human mind, I find meaning in knowing the God whose ways are unfathomable but far greater than I could ever imagine. (Isaiah 55:8-9, Ephesians 3:20)

God's purposes will always bring about what will give Him the glory.  Therefore, it is up to me to trust His ways, knowing that He will do what is not only best for me but also what will make Him look good.  Since it is impossible for me to come up with such a perfect solution, it is wise that I follow Him closely, only going where He leads, waiting patiently for Him, and letting Him get His way in every part of my life.

God will always get the glory for the great things He has done, but it is His decision as to how this will come about.

I struggle with seeing the state of our world today, grieving over the ungodly decisions made by our leaders.  As I witness the shift away from God in the society in which I live, I can trust God to get the glory, even in the midst of the mess.  He will reveal His own magnificence in His way, on His own timetable, and using the methods He deems as best.  Therefore, it is my job to draw closer to Him each day so that I won't miss His glorious works.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God to bring evil to its knees.

When do I try to bring about justice in a way that seems right to me instead of letting God do His job?

How do I grow impatient with the evilness of the world around me?