BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

"...lean not to your own understanding..." -Proverbs 3:5

Image by Skinnyandy via Flickr

Over the course of time, we find ourselves repeating certain tasks and reliving certain experiences. They can be great or small, significant or hardly noticeable, and spontaneous or mundane. Sometimes, it only takes one time for someone to feel like an expert in a certain area such as mastering a recipe on the first try or navigating through a new city like they have always lived there. We often feel completely confident in what we do know, and we should. But only to a certain extent.

As Christians, the Lord has made it clear to us in His Word to "[t]rust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6) When I think of leaning, I think about the activity where there are two people. One person is right behind the other person, and it is their responsibility to catch the person in front of them when they fall backwards. It is inevitable that the person who will fall backwards to completely trust that the person behind them will catch them before they hit the floor. How solid is your trust in yourself? Even better yet, how solid is your trust in the Lord compared to your trust in yourself? Matthew 6:33 states, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." It does not say that what you know and have experienced will not be considered at all. It just says that we should get in touch with God first. He may direct you to utilize your own knowledge, or He may point you in a completely different direction.

In God's Word, there is a passage about King David and his army getting ready to go to battle with one of their enemies. Although he was the king, David had enough wisdom to ask for God's perspective on this approaching battle. It is found in 2 Samuel 5:17-25, and here is the first part of the passage (verses 17-19):

"When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”

This was not King David's first rodeo when it came to fighting against his enemy. Matter of fact, his place of kingship was initiated by his defeat against Goliath the giant: 1 Samuel17. And Goliath was a Philistine just like the enemies that wanted to attack him in this passage. Will these people never learn? But that is not the point. Read on to the next part of the passage, and you will see how King David's wisdom really shined brightly. It will be in verses 22-25:

"Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, and He answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer."

Did you catch all this? So the Philistines were at it again. Not only is it the same enemy, but they want to do battle in the same exact place as before. Would it not have been much easier for King David to just do what he and his army did the last time in order to defeat the Philistines? But King David knew something that we so often forget: It's not what you know; it's Who you know. It looks like God gave King David more specific battle instructions this time. I am not completely sure, but this leads me to believe that the instructions given this time around may have been completely different from the last time King David and his army were in battle. So even though it was the same enemy and same battleground, King David had enough wisdom to seek the One who knows all things all the time. I am just thinking how this story may have ended completely differently if King David had not sought the Lord in both instances. Hmm....maybe not so good. And I shutter at the thought of how many needless times I and many others have suffered unnecessarily or forfeited an attainable victory because we thought that we were knowledgeable enough in a certain area to do things on our own without seeking the One who knows all first.

So the next you think to yourself "I've got this.", think twice and look to God first. You may be surprised at the instructions that He gives you. And think about this. Would you rather lean to your own understanding with the possibility of having to retract your steps or have the victory from leaning on the everlasting arms of our loving Lord? Who you turn to first will make all the difference.