"Calling Or Assuming? - Part 2"

"And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies." (1 Samuel 4:3)

Yesterday we talked about the fact that we do more "assuming" that we know what the will and plan of God is than we do seeking Him to know for sure. When we assume we know what He wants instead of seeking Him to find out, we often find ourselves making the wrong decisions.

When the Israelites went to battle against the Philistines, they did not seek the Lord, they assumed that just because they took the Ark of the Covenant into battle that the Lord would be with them and give them the victory. This was not the case. They were defeated, the priests were killed, the Ark was captured and the glory departed.

When we move out of assumption, instead of true direction from the Lord, we will wind up in trouble. There will be consequences that we will face. I have seen this happen so many times concerning relationships. A couple will get married and in no time the marriage is in trouble. They are fighting and ready for divorce. They are left wondering, "What happened? I 'prayed' about it." Did you really pray? Pray seeking God's answer? Or assume that this was God's will because you wanted it so badly? I have seen the same thing happen with business endeavors. Often we will move out of assumption because it looked like such a good deal, it was just what we had been praying for, it seemed like the right thing to do, or the opportunity came around. This is why we are told to "try the spirits". Test it to see if it really is God. Pray until you hear the answer and then pray some more to make sure what you heard was correct. Put out the "fleece" if you have to.

I have heard preachers put down on Gideon for putting out a "fleece" before God. They say that he didn't have any faith- he should have just believed God. Well, I never read that God put him down or got angry at him about it. If it takes doing that to make sure that we know, that we know that we have heard from God, then we should do it because the price of not knowing for sure and moving under assumption is often too great to pay.

Have a great day. There are consequences to moving by assumption instead of knowing for sure that you heard from God.
For further reading:
1 Samuel 4
1 John 4:1
2 Chronicles 26:5
Judges 6:37-39

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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