Where Do We Seek Answers?

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 23:9-10, When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake.

The one thing that David was good with, during those moments when he was right with the Lord, was turning to Him for direction and answers. He was apparently told about Saul’s plan to pursue him at Keilah. Knowing that Abiathar had the ephod with him, he immediately inquired with the Lord, rather than just assume what his next move should be. Note how he addressed God, “O LORD God of Israel”. He not only inquired of the LORD, but he addressed Him with reverence, and also acknowledged himself as God’s servant. I am afraid that today we are far too nonchalant about how we approach our Lord and Savior. We have allowed the familiarity we have with people creep into our attitude about, and approach to, God. Not only that, but we have a tendency to simply make decisions about what our next move will be in respect to situations that we should really be going to the Lord to first. We may not have a priest and ephod, but we have God’s Word and we, in Christ, are a priesthood of believers (1 Peter 2:5-9) who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God has provided us with His Spirit to teach us and guide us. He has given us His Word, which the Holy Spirit uses to teach us, change us, and guide us. The problem we run into is that far too many Christians are neglecting the Word of God and not relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance in what we are deciding in our lives. We are more concerned with serving our own needs than we are with serving the LORD. God’s Word is inspired by Him (God-breathed) and is one of the greatest treasures we possess. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In other words, God’s Word is profitable, first and foremost because it comes from Him and is the best way to get to know Him and who He is. It transforms our thinking by renewing our mind with His truth (Romans 12:1-2). It teaches us what we should believe as Christians so that we can live a life that honors the LORD. It convicts us and corrects us when we stray from the truth and from doing what is right. It puts us back on the right path and teaches us how to stay on that path. If we use it as we are supposed to, we will get to know our LORD intimately, mature in our walk with Jesus and become more like Him in our words, attitude, and actions. With that said, this should also encourage us to be more like David in how we address our God. He is not, and I repeat, HE IS NOT our Big Buddy in the sky! He is not the Big Guy or the Man Upstairs. He is LORD God. He is Savior and LORD. He is God Almighty. He is our Heavenly Father. When we approach Him, He deserves the respect and honor of being addressed for who He is. We must count it a privilege to be called His son or daughter, and even His friend. However, this does not minimize our responsibility to approach Him with reverence. We are encouraged to go to Him boldly when we need mercy and grace in our time of need in Hebrews 4:16, but this does not mean forgetting who it is we are approaching. We can go with confidence, knowing we are acceptable in His presence, but we must NEVER forget that we are acceptable before Him only in Christ Jesus. So, I must ask this simple question. Where do we go when we need answers to life and are seeking direction? Who do we seek in those times? I pray that our answer is Jesus and His Word.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free 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 free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).