We have already thought about how important it is to earnestly seek God’s direction in decision making. But, what do we do when we earnestly seek to know God’s wisdom and direction for a life decision and God just seems to be silent?
Knowing God as the eternal God who has perfect timing means we earnestly seek God’s direction and then, we refuse to move ahead unless we are confident it is in fact under His direction. But most of us don’t like to wait and unfortunately, too many times, we get impatient and move ahead without God’s clear direction. This is no small error to fall into.
Failure to wait on God’s direction was the beginning of Saul’s downward spiral away from God. After Samuel anointed Saul as king of Israel he told Saul of very specific events that God would orchestrate in his life that day. Then, Saul was ordered, "Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do (1 Samuel 10:8)." Samuel then tells us that as Saul left Samuel, God changed his heart (1 Samuel 10:9 ).
Saul was obedient and all the things that Samuel prophesied took place that day. In the next few days, Saul led a victorious attack on the Ammonites and they prepared to retaliate against Israel. The people of Israel became very frightened because of the much larger armies of the Philistines. Saul was encamped at Gilgal waiting for Samuel to come as promised. But then he took a very wrong turn in his life. As he was waiting for Samuel, he got impatient. Instead of waiting for Samuel to come and offer the burnt offering sacrifice, he went ahead and did it on his own. And immediately, Samuel returned. Saul had been told to wait for Samuel to come, offer the burnt offering and tell him what to do. Saul got impatient waiting for direction. He disobeyed God and moved ahead on his own. Samuel rebuked him.
"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.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14 ESV)
While it may be rare that the consequences of not waiting for God’s direction will be this severe for us, the lesson is a profound and important one. When a decision is to be made or a new direction is considered in life, it is critical that we wait on God’s direction and not move without it. Don’t get impatient and believe the thoughts that you have to make a decision. If God has not given you direction, wait. “But the sale will be over!” “But the deal will be lost!” “But I will miss this opportunity!” If God doesn’t give the go ahead to move forward, stay put! If God hasn’t given you the answer yet, He has a very good reason. Wait.
But, we ask the question, “How do I get God’s direction?” Do we just sit and wait for it to miraculously pop into our heads? No, we pray. We diligently search God’s Word for principles that apply to the decision – direction God has already given. Then, we make sure we are being obedient to the direction God has already given us in His Word. We assure that we are walking in intimate fellowship with Him, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit step by step. And we wait on God to give us clarity for the specific direction we need, remembering all the while that God has a purpose in making us wait. His timing is perfect and He will give the answer at the right time.
Now, don’t misunderstand and think that this means you have to have all the answers and know exactly how everything is going to work out. It does not mean that there will be complete confidence and the absence of all doubt, worry or fear. You can know God has given His direction and still struggle with trusting God. But, don’t move unless you are sure it is at God’s direction.
Conclusion
God is eternal. He created us for eternity. So what are you living for? Are you wasting your life or investing it?
Are you stressed out by time issues? Maybe your spending time on things God hasn’t asked you to do. You have all the time you need to do all that God wants you to do.
Are you frustrated, waiting on God to speak or act? Be still and contemplate the truth that there is a God in heaven who is indeed sovereign, and who has perfect timing, every time. Wait for His deliverance. Wait for His direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment