God's Purpose or Mine

How I love to read in the morning. This is how I learn. This is how I battle my enemy, myself. I have been reading this morning from 2 Samuel 1-6. In this reading I have discovered something about King David. When I think of David, I have many thoughts about him. Some of those thoughts are thoughts of, "how in the world were you the chosen one of God." David committed adultery, murder, polygamy...you name it, he probably did it. But, in all of his sin, in spite of all of his sins, he was deemed "a man after God's own heart." This morning as I read I caught a glimpse of how his heart looked to God. David did not value anyones ability to get even and take revenge for wrongs someone else had done to them. This is how 1 Samuel was spent. David had many chances to kill his enemy Saul, but he knew that revenge was not his to take. Then, 2 Samuel starts with how David looked upon someone else getting even, even though they thought they were doing good by David. David, also did not make a move without consulting God first. His focus was on God and what the big picture of God was. He lived in the moment of pain and struggle, but his focus was on God and God's end result.

Psalm 7, "O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. O LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands- if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe- then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high; let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses His wrath every day..."

David kept his heart toward God, and his relationship with his God first. He asked God to reveal anything that he had done wrong in the situation. And then he asked God to punish him, if He discovered sin in his heart! Have I ever asked God to punish me for my wrongs, I don't think so!! But, after he had been found innocent, he then allowed God to be the one to carry out vengeance. He knew his place and he respected His God's ability to do what he should not do. It is in trying to take matters into our own hands that get us into trouble. It is in carrying out our own plans that we loose sight of what God is trying to accomplish in us, in that moment.

Oswald Chambers, "We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself. What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me... God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious."

What am I taking into my own hands? What am I taking into my own hands in this moment today? Is there something in my heart that reveals my lack of faith in God? Do I really know that He will take care of my problem? Am I desiring a blissful marriage, or am I allowing God to reveal in me my own heart in the matter? Am I willing to allow God to do His work in me, instead of fighting against the situation and taking my circumstances into my own hands? Am I able to love and direct my children toward God today, or am I going to loose it and take out my anger upon them? God is trying to help me to change and become better in each thing that I go through. Am I willing to seek Him in the process, or am I seeking revenge on the world for what I feel is going wrong in my situation.