1 Samuel 4:1 Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines.
The Israelites went out to fight. The passage doesn’t say that they inquired of the Lord whether they should or not. It doesn’t say, “after much prayer and discernment, they went out to fight”. It just says they went out to fight. The Israelites took it upon themselves to fight their battle and what happened? They were defeated. Then they tried to get God to bless what they had already decided to do by bringing the ark with them and what happened? They were defeated again and the ark was taken from them.
Have you ever fallen into this trap of going it on your own and then asking God to bless your plans? I know I have. How often do I do things backwards as the Israelites did? I will decide that a plan makes sense to me and set out upon that path without ever inquiring of the Lord or bouncing the idea off another brother in Christ. Then when things start getting tough, I call on God to help out and bless my decision. Brothers and sisters, God doesn’t work that way!
- Have you ever followed your own plans without consulting Jesus? What was the outcome?
- Have you brought your plans to God and asked for His input prior to setting out? What was the outcome?
- How can you put God first in your planning and decisions making?
- Are there any decisions that you have to make that you need to place before God first?
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