Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Plan For Victory--Trust Part 1 of 12

PLAN FOR VICTORY--Trust Part 1/12
First Samuel 16-17

There is a difference between confidence and cocky. David was never cocky, but He learned to trust God 100% when serving his family as a shepherd. This gave David supreme confidence, knowing that God is always with him. Knowing this helps us all—adult and kids alike to understand there is nowhere we can go where our Father is absent. (Psalm 139:1-14)

Of course, that also serves to guard us against succumbing to temptation. If our parents’ eyes are always watching, we’d never get away with all kinds of stuff we try pulling. Would we? God ‘s eyes are always watching, and He knows all. David’s confidence comes from being alone in the fields keeping watch over his flocks. Long hours alone in the fields gave David a perfect opportunity to study God in his habitat.
The evidence is the many Psalms he wrote in the Bible There were times when he had to protect the sheep from wild animals, at his own peril. He knew God was present keeping him safe just as he was keeping his flock safe from harm.

David had no way of knowing that being a shepherd was going to change. One day, the prophet Samuel came to his father’s house and anointed David King! What do you think David thought about that? Do you think that he imagined he’d be moved into a palace immediately? Think again.

David had many trials both before and after Samuel anointed him king. As it is in our lives, living doesn’t mean we’re automatically entitled to anything. Trials are ways for us to learn life’s hardest lessons. It is our job to not let problems defeat us—remember God is by our side. He is rooting for our success. All we have to do is embrace Him as Lord, and obey Him.

Our God uses all the persons in His Holy Trinity to equip us with what we need. When we need it. His timing is perfect. When we think He’s slow, He’s getting us ready, and working all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28) He wants us to plan for our future by setting goals. He wants us to look to Him for achieving them. He is cheering us onto victory.

Take Home Nugget

Like David, we cannot see the future delights God has planned for us. But it is good to prepare for the unforeseen. Looking forward with hope is exactly how we aspire to live. No one knows the plans our God has in His mind for us. Setting goals is a way to enlist God to join our team. We’ll talk more about setting goals in future parts of this series.

The world is dynamic and the choices are not clear
Which way to go, towards what places to steer?
The best way is to keep God by our side
For trusting His leading and be our guide.
J.D. Griffith
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