CRAVE FOR DIVINE DIRECTION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 03, 2024.

SUBJECT : CRAVE FOR DIVINE DIRECTION!

Memory verse: "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." (Isaiah 48 vs 17.)

READ: Second Samuel 5 vs 17 - 20:

5:17: Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David King over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.

5:18: The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

5:19: So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

5:20: So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there, and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.

INTIMATION:

God's ability to direct our lives well is infinitely beyond our ability. Divine direction is our heritage in Christ, because when you receive Him as your Lord and Savior, He gives you the right to become a child of God. (John 1 vs 12.) A child of God enjoys the leading of the Father. Though divine direction is your heritage, but you must seek it in order to enjoy it because God created us as free moral individuals, therefore, allows us to make our choices. 

Divine direction can be obtained through prayer of inquiry. In Matthew 7 vs 7, Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock; and it will be opened to you." If the path you are going on seems like a dead end, ask Him, "Lord, where is the right side of this venture?" When you locate the path of life, you enjoy fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, which is our ultimate goal in prayer.

God is committed to leading you in the path of life He has ordained for you even before you were born. But inquiring in prayer ensures your access to His leading. David was a man who understood superbly that nature of God, and used it greatly. The power of the prayer of inquiry was outstanding in his life, hence God called him a man after His heart. 

In the passage we read today, we saw David’s exploits through inquiry and receipt of  divine direction from the Lord. Further in the same chapter, David again inquired of the Lord about the Philistines, and the Lord instructed him on what to do; “And David did so, as the Lord commanded him and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.” (vs 25) 

When you ask, God gives liberally, because He is committed. He is a loving Father, so be relaxed in His presence and ask as many questions as you need to be clear on every vital issue of your life. David wrote of the Lord in Psalm 16 vs 11, "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." 

When God leads you, you can't but become outstanding in life. Some people are not cut out for business, but have chosen to do it, either because of social influence or personal affection. Others are into all manner of professions where their star may never shine, because they haven't located the right path. They just keep groping around. 

However, you can't afford to go through life doing what seems right to you. It is too risky! "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 16 vs 25.) The apostle James said, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1 vs 5.)

We are often confused by the events around us. Many things we will never understand, others will fall in place in years to come as we look back and see how God was working. You need not understand God's ways (His ways are beyond our understanding), or worry if you don't understand everything as it happens. Instead, we should trust that God knows what He is doing, even if His timing or design is not clear to us. 

Don't give up in your efforts in seeking God. Continue to ask Him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding. He will give them to you. When you ask, God is committed to answer; He knows that without His direction your destiny is not secured. But until you ask Him, you will just keep doing what seems right, not what is right, and until you do what is right, you can't be marked right in life. David, in Psalm 37 vs 23, gives us the reassuring promise of God's direction in our lives; "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way."

When God leads you, He makes a leader out of you. But one wrong step can lead to a 40-year setback in life, as was the case of Moses and the children of Israel. Jesus tells us to persist in pursuing God. People always give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude that God cannot be found. But knowing God takes faith, focus, and follow-through (I call it the three 'Fs'), and Jesus assured us that we will be rewarded. (Matthew 7 vs 7 - 8.)

Divine direction was what rescued the disciples from an all-night futile toiling on the sea. Jesus came and said to them, "Cast your net on the right side of the ship and you shall find." They did, and were not able to draw in the net, for the multitude of fishes (John 21 vs 3 - 8).

Do you want breakthroughs? Then inquire of God in prayer concerning any issues before you take any steps. He will answer you, because He is interested in everything that concerns you. God is the only One who can lead you to true pastures and He is set to do so. If only you will let Him. He said; "Call upon Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33 vs 3.)

Remember, you can't wish problems away, you must rise up to the challenge, and effect a change. You don't have to accept the status quo, you are a child of destiny! Where you are now may not be God's ultimate for you. You can get to the top, if only you will push in prayers. You too can  live a problem-free life, and I see you getting there, in Jesus' name!

Prayer, Abba Father, You are my Loving Father, and Faithful Companion. Outside of You, I can do nothing, and without Your direction, I can never fulfill my destiny. Give me the grace, O Lord, to constantly inquire from You concerning any issues in my life, that I may obtain Your leading through the Holy Spirit indwelling me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!