SOUNDING OUT:
Same Ole – Same Ole
Revelation is for the situation for which it
was given. If similar situations arise in the future God can give
you word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and discerning of spirits
again, should you need it. One does not save revelation from one
situation to use on another in the future. Jesus healed many blind
men as recorded in the Gospels. However, he never seemed to do
it the same way twice. God gave him specifics for each situation,
and he believed to bring the gifts of healings to pass according
to what God revealed to him each time.
David was an accomplished military man. However, he did
not always use pass success and previous tactics to dictate his
next moves. He walked by the spirit and asked God before jumping
into things. When confronted by the Philistines David inquired
of God.
I Chronicles 14:10-12:
And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines?
and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto
him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand.
11 So they came up to Baalperazim;
and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in
upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters:
therefore they called the name of that place Baalperazim.
12 And when they had left their gods
there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.
David obeyed, went straight at the
Philistines, and won. Shortly after this the Philistines mounted
another attack. Rather than go straight at them again, he inquired
of the Lord. This time the direction was different.
I Chronicles 14:13-17:
And the Philistines yet again spread themselves abroad in the
valley.
14 Therefore David enquired again
of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away
from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
15 And it shall be, when thou shalt
hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that
then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before
thee to smite the host of the Philistines.
16 David therefore did as God commanded
him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even
to Gazer.
17 And the fame of David went out
into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all
nations.
David was a proven warrior. Yet
with all his success he did not rely on his skill or natural ability.
He relied upon God. His inquiry of the Lord provided victory the
first time, so he went back again before the second battle to
inquire again. This time God told David not to go straight at
them but to turn away and attack only after hearing a sound in
the top of the mulberry trees. David didn’t assume that
the revelation that worked the first time would work a second
time, too. He knew communicating with the living God was the only
way to insure success. He knew better than to assume to do it
the same way again without consulting the Father. That is a lesson
we should all learn.
Obedience is more important than skill or ability. God
may have a better way of doing things than we have been doing
them. If we ask, we may find out what it is. David’s fame
spread throughout the land. That is the reward of obediently walking
by the spirit. Every problem is not a nail, and we should not
approach each situation with a hammer. God’s toolbox makes
quite an assortment of equipment at our disposal. Remember walking
by the spirit is not formulas, but family life. Scott J. Shickler
tells the following story of an old man in the doctor's office
(Words of Wisdom, Kidsway Inc. Cited in Bits & Pieces).
An old man seated in
the doctor’s waiting room, when called in to see the doctor,
slowly got up, and, grasping his cane and hunching over, slowly
made his way into the examining room. After only a few minutes,
the man emerged from the room, walking completely upright! A patient
who had watched him hobble into the room all hunched over, stared
in amazement. “That must be a miracle doctor in there!”
he exclaimed. “What treatment did he give you? What’s
his secret?” The old man looked at him and said, “Well,
the doctor looked me up and down, analyzed the situation, and
gave me a cane that was four inches longer than the one I had
been using.”
How often do we give
everyone the same length cane? That is no more appropriate than
giving everyone the same answer for every problem. Life is not that
simple. People come with various backgrounds and belief systems,
and the causes of problems can be compound and complex. Although
“pat answers” and “specific regimens” are
easily given they rarely bring the deliverance God desires. Jesus
walked, saying and doing whatever God inspired. We would do well
to follow in his footsteps and treat every situation as a unique
opportunity to believe God.
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