Has there been a time, or are you currently in a situation that could be better if you asked God for wisdom beforehand?
This lesson has been one that reminds me of how similar I am to the people of Israel. What do I mean by that? I mean, I have spent years of my life – in fact the majority of my life- knowing and serving God… yet I still continue to step out on my own and go out wandering around the same mountain out in the wilderness.
I think that like the LORD’s chosen people in Israel, we can easily find ourselves enslaved. Remember, the family of Israel did not move into Egypt AS slaves. They moved in as relatives to the 2nd in command over the greatest world power of that time. It seemed like a great blessing (and it was), in the middle of a literal multi-year drought. Moving into Egypt made life easier. There was food to eat, where there was no food elsewhere. There was land available for their livestock and provisions for them, (that due to the drought) were no longer readily available elsewhere. And again, their son/brother, Joseph was a well respected, loved and trusted official.
And yet, somewhere along the way, things change for this family. Joseph dies. Different Pharaoh’s come into leadership and they forget about Joseph and how he saved their nation. The Israelite family is booming and multiplying at an alarming rate. The political climate changes… and? And the Pharaoh becomes fearful of this people. He and the native Egyptians turn Israel into slaves. And life slowly changes into a life of oppression for the chosen of God.
You know the story, the nation of Israel cries out to God. He hears. He sends help in the form of Moses and Aaron. The people are led out of Egypt with plunder after God has shown Himself to the Egyptian people through the plagues. The people are on their way into the Promised Land, and they quickly slide back into patterns of complaining. They doubt God, and His ability to provide. They stop listening for God’s voice or seeking His direction and begin to try to make decisions for themselves.
Maybe we should go back to Egypt? Life was better there. Did God lead us out into this desert to kill us?
Let me be real: For years I have thought, “How could this group of people be so crazy! Can’t they see God’s hand in their deliverance? In their provision? Why in the world would they want to go back to a life of slavery? What are they thinking! I would never do that!”
But I do. I think we all do.
We do when we ask and pray for God’s hand to be upon our lives. When we ask for His wisdom and discernment. And God, being God, provides it. And we may or may not heed it. But once God has provided, we begin to doubt Him again. Or worse yet, we thank Him for what He has done, and give Him an “Alright God. I’ll take it from here! I’ve got this!”, and proceed on our merry little way – believing that we truly DO have this.
But we don’t. We don’t!
As soon as we make the shift from “God being capable” and “God being in control” to “I’m capable” and “I’m in control” things go south.
We were not created to be “I” people. “I people” make poor choices. Selfish choices. “I people” take their eyes off of God – the Creator of the Universe – and put them on self – the creator of disasters.
I will not speak for your “self”, but I will speak for my “self”. My self has hurt people. It has neglected and mistreated others for my own personal benefit. It has damaged relationships. It has made me more important than others put in my path. It has caused me to do things that I would never ever have done, had I not become an “I person”.
I don’t want to rely upon me. I want to rely upon God.
Friend, when I make a decision, even just an everyday decision and I do not consult God in it: it is easy for me to fall back into an “I decision.” I know that this is true for me, but really, I believe it is true for all of us. If we consult God, He will always direct us to make decisions that are right and holy and good. He will always guide us in ways that truly provide for our needs and that are best for each circumstance. So why are we choosing to do anything else?
Today and everyday let’s seek the LORD’s leading and direction. Need answers? Ask Him. He cares enough about His people that even the smallest of requests don’t bother Him.
Proverbs 14:22 “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (The “I” way)
Isaiah 48:17 “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” (The God way)
Psalm 48:14 “For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.”
Blessings!