Friday, December 15, 2017

1 Samuel 30:8 -- On Inquiring of the Lord

"And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all."
1 Samuel 30:8


Depending the context of our lives, God and war/destruction can seem quite foreign to each other, since God asks us to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek, right?  But as it says in D&C 6:36 "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."  War and battle are not exceptions, nor is anything else.  If we're trying to do the right thing and protect rather than conquer or enslave, we can still have the spirit and seek God's aid.  Here, David went to the Lord and asked if he should go after the people who burned the city and kidnapped his wives, and God told him to go.

I think that is the point here.  We can't assume that God's will is the same as our own, and that we know what the best outcome is.  David didn't know if he should pursue the army or whether he would ever see his wives again, but he was willing to ask God, and be open to his answer (rather than just pursuing without asking).  As we follow this example of David in our lives, we won't always get what we want, but we will be giving God a greater opportunity to guide us as we are open to his advice, and as we follow the advice we are given, our lives will be better than we could make them alone.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Total Pageviews