All in Favor

I Chronicles 13, "David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousand and commanders of hundreds. he then said to the whole assembly of Israel, 'If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.' The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people." NIV

I read a quote somewhere that said, "For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee." My sentiment exactly.

We have this tendency as humans to reason with our minds. It's a beautiful thing, our mind. With this God-given center of our physical existence, we can think, remember, reason, justify, and caution ourselves." It's a natural thing, also, that as we grow to maturity in our physical bodies to grow to maturity in our way of thinking. But often times, our human logic overshadows our ability to seek God's wisdom.

Even with good intentions of bringing others to know Him, and bringing glory to His Name, we can put more emphasis on our having "thought-through" decisions and actions rather than "prayed-through."

David had good intentions in desiring the Ark of the Covenant to be returned to Jerusalem. Apparently, Saul never sensed the importance of it, and David was convinced that it was necessary to their political and religious well-being. Flexing his new leadership muscles, he wisely discussed the decision with the officers and commanders first before presenting the idea to Israel. And when he did present the plan to Israel, he wisely told them, "If it's okay with you...oh, and if it's the will of Yahweh." The Scripture though only states that they agreed to do it because it "seemed right to all the people." Wow. They agreed. They were unified in saying, "I." And there were no naysayers. So they went forward with their plan.

If you remember, there was a certain way that God had instructed His people to transport the ark. But they didn't do it this way. They used a cart, and when the ark started to slip, Uzzah instinctively reached up to steady it. He died. They were commanded not to touch the ark because it was holy. The celebration of bringing the ark back to Jerusalem ended abruptly because of the disastrous attempt to do what "seemed right."

Remember that David urged them to seek the Lord, but they just plowed on ahead with their plan because it "seemed right." It was a great timing, after all. They had new leadership, and there were new things happening. It was only right that it was time for the Ark of the Covenant to be returned to its rightful place. But they didn't seek the Lord, and it ended in death.

Too many times, we plow ahead with plans because they seem right. Even with great intentions of seeing souls saved and bringing glory to God, our best efforts can end in disaster when we don't seek Him.

We try to keep peace in our churches by giving into opinionated committee members when they feel strongly about a situation. We try to keep the peace in the world when we encounter others who scoff at the idea of seeking the Lord. We try to reason with our finite minds, even with God, when we are afraid of what His will might cost us.

But when we try to do things in the realm of our own understanding, it only brings death. Instead of a celebration, we end up wondering where we went wrong. And even like David, we blame God for Him not blessing our plans.

When we read ahead in this book, we see a far different outcome when David followed the Lord's commands for returning the Ark of the Covenant. It was an outcome that ended in celebration, dancing, and blessing.

Have you tried to reason with yourself, others, and even God to accomplish your plans? How did it end? If we would only seek Him and find His direction, situations and circumstances would be far different. No committee's wisdom can measure up to the direction of Almighty God.

Discipline

Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” NLT

I use coupons like a mad woman. If fact, I’ve held a few couponing seminars to teach others the methods that have proven effective for saving my family thousands of dollars a year. Some call me a cheap skate. I call myself smart. Coupons are a wonderful way to save money, and to me, it’s totally worth it. At one point, I was saving my family over $500 a month just by spending about 4 hours a week working on my strategies and plans. 

But there’s a catch. You can’t stop. When you first start, you don’t save as much because your bank of coupons/rebates have to get stocked. There’s not as many coupons in your stash as when you’ve been collecting them for a few weeks. If you miss a week of the Sunday inserts, you’ve messed up, and it’s sort of like starting over. Missing just one week of those precious legal counterfeit dollars is detrimental to your success. And it’s crucial that you are disciplined. If you just toss them all in an envelope and race off to the store, you will find yourself in a mess. Hours have to be spent preparing your plan, making lists, and reading coupon blogs in order to see the best deals. You may save some money with this method, but you will in no way see the same results as someone who has put in the time to prepare for shopping trip.

The author of Hebrews speaks in chapter 12 of God’s Loving Discipline. I was shocked to learn that there are at least eight definitions for the word “discipline.” While it can be used as both a noun and a verb, the indication is that discipline is used to make us better. Leading a disciplined life, receiving discipline in the form of punishment, and disciplining ourselves to learn a new skill all point to bettering ourselves for something else to come. It’s important, and the Bible speaks very clearly that discipline is a good thing, although painful. But Hebrews’s author is clear. The purpose of discipline is to make us more like Him. And it brings about a “peaceful harvest of right living.” Isn’t that a beautiful term? 

When we are lazy and unintentional in our spiritual lives, we need to expect the same results. Not devoting our time to prayer, Bible Study, and worship will only lead to a relationship that is stale and lacking in fervor. Where our time is spent will become the treasure of our hearts. 

Likewise, healthy living requires discipline. If we are intentional in our nutrition and exercise, we will see a healthy body. But if we are lazy and sloppy in taking care of His Temple, we will only see likewise results. Only exercising occasionally will not help if we are not disciplined in our routines. Slipping in junk food also does detriment to the good that we are trying to do when we prepare healthy food. But the painful discipline that we adhere to will only produce a wonderful harvest if we only persevere.

Do you need to cultivate discipline? The Scripture says that He will help us if we seek it. The Bible also says that discipline is the mark of a Spirit-filled life. 

Encouragement for Today

Proverbs 3:11-12 “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.” NLT

Proverbs 25:28 “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.” NLT

Proverbs 12:1 “To learn, you must love discipline, it is stupid to hate correction.” NLT

1 Corinthians 9:27a “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should...” NLT