Grand Inquiry

On April 17, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Joshua 9: 14

… but they did not inquire of the Lord.

What a great reminder this is. I wonder how many tasks I do and decisions I make in a day in which I err in the exact same way as Joshua and the Israelites. In this story, the Gibeonites tricked the Israelites. They pretended to be from far away to deceive the Israelites into making a treaty with them. God gave the Israelites certain land. He went with them clearing out the inhabitants of all those lands. The Gibeonites put on old clothes and put old provisions in their sacks. So, the Israelites sampled the provisions but did not inquire of the Lord and thus were fooled.

Worldly wisdom and analysis will never be as complete, thorough or accurate and God’s wisdom. God knew who the Gibeonites were and that they were from a nearby land. He would have gladly told Joshua or any of the Israelites had they paused to ask Him. How is it that Joshua, who witnessed so much and was led even as Moses was, could fail to continue in the way he was taught? Did he get comfortable in his leadership?

It seems when the pressure is on we seek God with all our hearts and strength but then when the pressure isn’t as intense, we kick back and begin to rely on our experience or our own assessments. What error! It is in those times that we can make grievous missteps as did the Israelites. We need to train ourselves to ask Father about all things. Along with that, we must grow accustomed to talking with Him all day long and hearing His responses. One who cannot hear the Lord, cannot be led by Him. We can develop a “Him with us” consciousness too. When we believe He is with us at all times, I mean really convinced in this, then speaking with Him becomes more spontaneous.

Seek the Lord’s wisdom and presence in all you do. Where are you headed right now? Take God with you. There may be Gibeonites there.

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Healthy Advice

On October 7, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Chronicles 16: 12

And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.

How completely idiotic does Asa seem to you? Of course, this is what most of us do but it sounds really goofy when it is written out. You can hear the incredulity in the author’s tone. 
 
What is your first reaction when you get sick? Do you run for your Bible? I wish I could say that I do but it is often an afterthought. If we do pray without ceasing, pray at all times, then it would only be natural for us to immediately put our symptoms at the Father’s feet. Our immediate impulse ought to be to tell our Father how we feel at any point in our daily conversation with Him. 
One gets the impression from this brief statement about Asa that he allowed his condition to worsen without inquiring of the Master Healer. I would wish that you would tell God about every symptom, no matter how minor as soon as we become aware of it. Certainly, though, as symptoms progress we should seek not only healing but the Father’s advice. Even in small matters there will be things He can tell us that will help us feel better. Mostly, however, we should seek the Lord’s face and with that comes His healing power. 
 
It is not wrong to seek the advice of physicians as Asa did in this passage. God gave us physicians and has revealed truth to them in order to help us. Asa’s problem, and ours, is that we seek the physician’s guidance without ever consulting the one who has all health knowledge and who created us in the first place. He knows how our bodies work better than anyone and everything that human beings know, they got from the Father. So, the moral of this story is that we should not limit getting our medical advice from the medical community only. We should inquire also of our Father and God.

God is able to supernaturally heal you. He is also willing and able to tell you remedies which you can employ on your own. Most of all, Don’t be an Asa. Don’t wait for your sickness or disease to grow severe before you begin to seek the Lord. If you will start out looking to Him, you can avoid a great deal of discomfort and that is always a good thing.

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