Plans

Recently, I have been fixated on a story out of 1 Samuel. It’s the story of David and his mighty men, in the cave of Adullam. Here is a little background information. Saul has been trying to kill David, and David has been running from Saul. In chapter 24, Saul finds out that David is in the wilderness of En-gedi, and goes after him. At one point, Saul needs to take a potty break (you got to love the bible), and goes into a cave for some privacy. It just so happens that this is the same cave that David and his mighty men are hiding.
David’s men see this as a perfect opportunity to kill Saul and stop the running. To them, it makes perfect sense. Saul has been trying to kill David for so long. Obviously, God is providing an opportunity here. At one point, the men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' They truly believed this was God’s will. However, David wouldn’t kill him. He only went so far as to cut a piece of his robe off.
A little more history behind this story: Saul was anointed by God to be king over Israel. When he went against God, and didn’t do what God wanted, God rejected him, and had David anointed as the next king (See 1 Samuel 16 for this story). Saul then lost the blessing of God, by the Spirit leaving him (1 Samuel 16:14).
So, there are 2 men that have been anointed to be king. On the surface, it seems like the obvious choice is to kill Saul. He has been rejected by God. He has been trying to kill David (chosen by God). David has been anointed to be the next king. He has God’s blessing. Why doesn’t David kill him? To me, the answer is quite powerful. Saul is anointed by God as well. Even though he has been rejected by God for not doing his will, at one point he was anointed by God. He was the chosen one. You do not go against the chosen one. David knew this. Even though his (David) life may have been easier, even though he would have been “justified” in killing Saul (at least in the eyes of David’s men, and possibly even us today???), it would still have been going against God. Saul was still the chosen one.
I think we do that today. We get these wonderful plans in our head, and don’t understand why God doesn’t “magically” make them happen. We aren’t selfish in our ambitions. We want to help people. We have others’ best interest at heart. So why doesn’t God allow our plans to take off? We ask ourselves late at night when we can’t sleep, “why doesn’t God see this plan the way I do? It is so obvious! It would help so many people. My family would be safe! We would be provided for!” We forget sometimes that God has his own plan. It may not make any sense at the time, but He has a reason for everything that He does. We get these great ideas in our head, and then get frustrated when our plans, that have no ulterior motive, won’t take off.
David could have killed Saul. He would have been king that way. But, I believe killing God’s anointed would have started a snowball effect of situations in David’s life that would have made the Bathsheba incident look like a Saturday morning cartoon series. Later on, I will write on what anointed means, and how it relates to us today as Christians.
We have to learn to listen to God. We have to learn to trust that He knows what he is doing. And, we have to learn to not step into His business. We do not know as much as He does. We cannot possibly know what is best, and think we are going to show God what the correct decision to do is.
Start listening for God. God speaks to us through other people. Don’t ignore people that may be questioning your judgment. Reflect on key events that may have prevented your plan from happening, even when the execution “was flawless”. Maybe that is God trying to quietly tell you, “not so fast.” Take time to just sit in silence for a period of time. Try not to convince God of your plans. He already knows what they are. Start asking God, “What is it you want me to do with my life? Why did you create me? Do my present plans go against your will?” We should be asking God for wisdom to know what He wants us to do. We should be asking Him to help us see when our plans conflict with His, and that He would give us the courage to change direction when conflicts arise.
We have to remember: God is God, and we are not.....