God Sightings #20, May 16th – 22nd
May 12, 2010 by adamraylawson
Filed under God Sightings
God Sightings #20, May 16th – 22nd.
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 17:1 – 31:13
The story of David and Goliath is a classic. Even people that have never read the Bible nor been to church know the general outline of the story. It’s certainly a great one for encouraging yourself when you have giants to face. The climax of the narrative being David’s words in 17:47, “and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s and he will give you into our hand.” In my short years I have found that verses like this are great to post on your wall, etc. However, that doesn’t mean that life goes well or that you’ve learned to relax and trust God. That seems to take work. It’s always easier to say the words. As a result, I find it helpful to ask myself again if there are areas of my life where I’m struggling simply from trusting in myself instead of in the Lord. That doesn’t mean to not do anything. As the story illustrates, David still had to walk out to meet the giant and sling the stone. However, he was wise enough to realize that even in his actions God still had to do the moving. So ask yourself, “What battles am I still fighting in my own strength?”
In chapter 22 we find David being the “Robin Hood” of the Bible. “David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; when his brothers and all his father’s house heard of it, they went down there to him. Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them.” (Verses 1-2) This story reminds me how often life can take a sudden and unexpected turn, and seemingly for the worse. The man that’s supposed to be king is running for his life and continues to do so for quite some time. I’m sure he never expected to be in that place leading the “outcasts” of society. However, it was all a part of the plan of God, and in His time David would be able to take his place as King. It was a lesson in patience, a lesson that all of us need to learn over and over again.
New Testament: John 8:21 – 12:19
As I mentioned in an earlier post about John, there are a lot more “mystical” sayings in John than in any other gospel. Jesus continues the “mystical” sayings in these chapters even though his own followers aren’t able to understand; let alone everyone else. If you read through it without trying to break everything down and “understand” it all – the beauty of the “higher level” of speaking that Jesus is using shines through. There are some writings/stories that are understood much better we stop trying so hard to understand. Sometimes the truth of a passage can only come out when we look past the words and allow the power of the message to go beyond our ears and minds and let it go deeper into our souls. This isn’t easy for everyone to do. In our culture; the goal is always to fully comprehend and understand all of the words, and then the phrases, and then the sentences, etc. But sometimes that doesn’t work; especially things of the spirit. When put into words the thoughts loose some of their strength. We need to ask God to allow us to see the truth behind the words and not become focused on the small details. Try it.