Joshua
was one of the great leaders of Israel. One of the biggest mistakes
he made had rippling effects for centuries to come. He forgot to ask
God about a seemingly little thing.
In
reading our Bible story at bed time with my kids, we read the story
“Tricked!”. Joshua was approached by the Gibeons in disguised,
fooled into thinking they were people from far away, and tricked into
making a treaty with them. (You can read the story in Joshua 9.) If
he had just asked God for guidance, he wouldn't have been so easily
deceived.
The
children's story that followed the Bible story demonstrated why we
need to learn to be askers.
1
Thessalonians 5: 17 says “pray without ceasing”.
I
often thought that meant we're required to try and pray all day long,
or at least throughout the day. In a way, yes it does, but here's
another thought.
Galatians
5: 16-18 says “I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to
one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if
you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
I
believe walking in the Spirit and praying without ceasing go hand in
hand.
We
need to be seeking the Lord in everything we do. Often times we rush
a head, making a rash decision that may not be the best thing for us,
and we leave the Spirit of God out of it.
Did
you pray about it first?
I know
some of you might think this is ridiculous, but in my own life there
have been numerous times when I just talk to the Lord about my day,
or the things I need/want to get done, and I find that He often will
direct me. I have often found things we were in need of at the second
hand store, something I had told the Lord we needed and we wanted to
be wise with our money and not buy bran new if we could get second
hand. And He provides.
Then
there's major decisions too. I remember when we needed a van. We had
outgrown our little car and needed something that suited our growing
family. We prayed and found a second hand van. We were prepared to
pay a few thousand for it, but again, the Lord led us to the right
people and the right van and we ended up only paying $100. The people
we bought it from wanted to bless us, and they did!!
Had we
rushed into the whole thing, and went off and bought ourselves
something else, somewhere else without praying, we may never have
experienced that blessing.
Another
Bible story we recently read with our kids was from 1Samuel 8-10. The
Israelites wanted a king. God knew that was not what was best for
them, but He let them have what they wanted.
Again,
we don't see the people seeking God in this, rather telling God...
straight out demanding of Him... we want a king! Being that He's
given us a free will, He allows them their demand, but also with the
consequences that come with that.
The
children's story that went with this Bible story, depicted someone
gorging themselves in sweets and junk food, just because that was
what they wanted. The moral at the end of the story stated simply
“It's best to want what's best for us. Who knows best what is best
for you?”
And of
course we all know that answer. Our Lord does.
I know
praying about little things might seem ridiculous to some, but what
if you, without praying, were going about your day in a rush, not
spending time with the Lord and talking about your day, and you hurry
off somewhere, ignoring that nagging feeling you should maybe stay
home today, and then you find out later someone in need called upon
you and you were not there to help them?
Or
what if I made a decision about something. I think it's fine, in fact
I wanted it and I had
my heart set on it. Without asking the Lord, I plunge ahead and do
it. Later I discover it was a stupid decision and a big mistake.
Maybe I even had people warn me it wasn't the best, but I ignored
them anyway.
Life
would have been less complicated had I asked the Lord for guidance
and waited for His leading.
Walking
in the Spirit.
Sometimes
God may not give us that gut feeling. Often He speaks to us through
His Word. We might not be able to find the exact words to a curtain
problem, but there's enough scripture and guidance there to help us
make some decisions. For example. Does it line up with Galatians 5
and the fruits of the Spirit, or does it fall under the works of the
flesh?
1Thessalonians 5:22 says “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
Does
it have the appearance of evil. If it does, is this something God
would be pleased having you do????
We can
go on and on with this. I am sure there are many topics we could
cover here. But my challenge to you and to myself is this.
Did
you pray about it?
S.L. Kliever
