God First

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 4:1, And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

This chapter takes us into the journey of Israel’s defeat at the hand of the Philistines. However, before we go there, note that the first part of this verse seems out of place. Samuel is mentioned, but then no mention of him is made until later chapters. The first part of the verse seems to actually be part of the previous chapter, where we read in 3:21, “Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.” What stands out in all of this is that God established Samuel as His prophet, and it is known throughout Israel, yet, we see that Israel goes out against the Philistines without first going to God, by way of His prophet, to seek whether or not they should fight this war. One of the most dangerous steps we can take in life, as born again Christians, is to make plans, regardless of how big or small, without going to God first and seeking whether our plans are part of His will and plan for our lives. Far too often we allow our own personal desires, and wants, drive our direction. We spiritualize it by quoting Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The problem with that is that this verse is one of the verses that is most often taken out of context to fit our own plans, and give ourselves permission to do what we want to do. What we fail to consider, or see, is that when we do this, we set ourselves up for failure and often discourage others who fail in their plans, because we foolishly gave them that advice. As Christians, when other believers come to us seeking approval for the plans they share with us, our first question should be, “Have you prayed about this and sought God’s direction in this?” If they have not, then we should offer to pray with them and seek God’s direction with them through His Word. If Israel had taken the time to seek the Lord, they would have realized that there was a greater problem in their lives than the Philistines…their sin against the Lord. This would have taken them in a completely different direction and God may have even interceded on their behalf, fought for them, and given them victory over those who were seeking to oppress them. Proverbs 3:5-7, clearly instructs, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil.” Sadly, many Christians have a tendency to seek guidance by ungodly means. I have said this before, and I will say it again, a Christian has no business seeking advice or guidance from ungodly and demonic methods, such as palm readers, fortune tellers, and the like. King Saul’s death was in part because he sought a medium for guidance. 1 Chronicles 10:13 tells us, “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.” In Christ, we have access to God 24/7. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot seek God’s guidance in the decisions we make. Psalm 1 clearly instructs us to stay away from the advice and fellowship of the ungodly. In John 16:13, Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. When we set out to do something and do not first turn to God, and then fail, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Israel failed to seek God; then blamed God for their defeat, instead of looking at themselves and realizing that it was their sin and their failure to stay close to the Lord that led to their defeat. We must take care not to be defeated by our own selfish desires, and our own failure to seek God’s direction in our lives. What we think is a good idea and a good plan, may seem like it, and there may not be anything sinful about what we set out to do, but we must first consider whether what we set out to do is part of God’s will and plan for our lives. Seek God first.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).