Scripture
2 Samuel 5:19-"So David inquired of the LORD, ‘Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?’ The LORD answered him, ‘Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you.’”
Observation
One thing all great leaders in the Bible did in common - they all sought the Lord for divine instructions and guidance. In this section of 2 Samuel, we read how David always sought the Lord and one of the most crucial leadership questions of all has nothing to do with finding resources or attracting competent team members, or setting a target date. The crucial question employs four small but potent words: “What Does God Say?”
David would discover the importance of this question in two quite different ways. The first is, twice, the Philistines have gathered to attack him, and on both times, he inquires of the Lord before he acts. Both times he gets divine instructions from the Lord, follows them, and succeeds. Two chapters later, Nathan the prophet speaks for God before receiving divine instructions. God connects him that night, and he is forced to return to David and amend what he has spoken.
Application
The lesson for me is I shouldn’t act or speak for God until I have made absolutely sure I am representing Him correctly. In one of my recent messages, I made an error in saying something that got past me and someone questioned me on what I said. When I went back to first, see what I said, and then match this with what the Bible says. I did say this in error but it was also taken out of context. I did say this but it wasn’t what I wanted or what I meant - none the less I was wrong for recklessly saying what I did. I could have done this better if I checked with the way it was interpreted in the Bible and explained it better. I always ask the Lord to help me with my messages, and for the life of me, can’t understand how this one got past me. Still, I need to spend time going over my messages with God and the lesson for me is to listen more before speaking.
Prayer
Father, I pray for Your forgiveness for not representing You well. I pray for thanksgiving to the person who was bold enough to correct me. I always need people in my life willing to see the error and help me make the necessary corrections. I pray to the Lord that I check and balance my messages better before delivering what I say to the congregation. I feel so bad for not hearing from You before speaking for You. In Jesus Name I pray all these things. Amen
