Pursuing the Obvious...
"Oh, that's obvious. No need to ask God."
"You don't need to ask God about things like that."
"God doesn't care about that."
The world has programmed us to be self-reliant.
We praise self-sufficiency,
We glorify being a "self-made man".
Satan is a tricky ol' turd.
He loves to take a God thing and TWIST it, WARP it and make it un-Godly.
That's what he's done with reliability.
While it is good to be reliable, responsible and solution-oriented,
Satan takes it to an un-Godly extreme,
Where we ask God LESS and LESS question about life decisions,
And makes us think that we shouldn't ask God about "obvious" things.
The TRUTH is, if we ask God for advice and direction,
Satan will get out-smarted every time,
Which is good for us,
Bad for him.
That's why he has worked so hard to convince us we shouldn't ask God for details.
So let's look at how David handled details in life....
Example #1) OBVIOUS QUESTION
David's enemy, the Philistines were coming after him. He's already a skilled and fierce warrior. FYI, he did kill Goliath. Wouldn't it be an OBVIOUS thing to defend or attack someone who's coming after you? Wouldn't a normal human just go do it?
Not David.
"so David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?'"
David never assumed ANYTHING about God and always asked.
How can we do the same?
What is an obvious decision we can ask God about?
What have we got to lose?
Example #2) OBVIOUS REPEAT SITUATION
From example #1, David totally crushes the Philistines whoops them, but later they come back at him again. As a normal human, I would naturally think that since I crushed them last time with God's approval, this is an automatic approval. There's no need to ask for a repeat situation, right? Not David.
"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"
It turns out even in the same situation God had him do something TOTALLY different. God is just so creative we can never assume anything.
We must ALWAYS ask God.
Is there a repeat situation in your business or life that you should ask God about?
Remember to never assume. Always ask.
Example #3) OBVIOUS EMERGENCY
When David came back to the city he and his warrior was staying they were devastated to see that they had been raided and all their family and belongings had been taken. David's mighty warriors were so distressed that they mourned to exhaustion then got mad and wanted to stone David to death! Wouldn't the OBVIOUS next move be "Let's go get our women, children and belongings back!". No need to ask God because this is an OBVIOUS emergency, right?
Not David.
"and David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?'"
To be in a crisis where you lost everything, family and possession, and your life is being threatened and STILL be more concerned about God's will is pretty incredible. No wonder God called David a man after His own heart.
Do you have an emergency that you are reacting to that you need to ask God about?
"Trust 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."
There's NOTHING too small or too big to ask God about.
Here are 2 questions you can ask God in ANY situation.
1) God, what do YOU think about ______ situation?
2) God, what do YOU want me to do?
That's it!
If you can practice asking those 2 questions regarding EVERYTHING, you'll be amazed at what happens.
Just try doing it once a day for ONE WEEK!
Step 1) Set an appointment on your calendar to ask God a question.
Step 2) Then get quiet and seek, listen and write down ANYTHING that comes to mind. Collect your answers for one week and review them at the end of 7 days!
It'll be great!
"Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me get into the DETAILS with You,
May nothing be OBVIOUS,
Because Your ways are HIGHER than my ways,
Your thoughts HIGHER than my thoughts.
May I not assume ANYTHING,
Even the OBVIOUS,
And be trained to ask You FIRST.
Make my heart like David's,
A man after Your own heart,
May I SEEK You first when my most prized possessions are taken,
And not look towards human logic to take action.
Ingrain the desire for YOUR desire in my heart,
May I only look to You,
May I only think of You,
May I only thirst for You,
Change my heart O God.
In Jesus name, Amen."
Cheers to asking God about everything... including the OBVIOUS! ^_^
