“In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked. The Lord said, “Go up.”
I can remember being a kid in middle school in Midland, TX trying to stay out of trouble. Tempers got heated one day with a fellow classmate and I had to act fast. My options were to confront this kid, who happened to be Hispanic, or just say something quippy and let it go. My earnest desire was to kick the snot out of him but I knew better. You see, if I chose to fight this kid I was not just fighting this kid, but nearly the entire Hispanic boys population in my middle school. It was widely known that most of the Hispanic kids were in gangs in Midland and you did not mess with them because, well, you mess with one you get entire gang. I did not get in a fight that day because what little wisdom I had, told me to hold back.
David was the leader of a gang in old Israel. He had been avoiding Saul and his army for years now and making them look like fools in the process. Abner, Saul’s military commander, was not ready to let David go after Saul’s death. Instead, he and the remaining Israeli army still were quite mad and wanted to kill David even after Saul was dead. David, being wise, inquired of the Lord as to whether or not he should go up to Judah and out of the desert. The same desert that was home for David and his gang for over 15 years now. The Lord said to “go up” and people of Judah made David king over Judah while Saul’s son was crowned king over the rest of Israel.
As you can see, a fight was brewing. Two rival gangs ready to tear each other apart. They end up meeting at a place called the pool of Gibeon. Joab, David’s commander, and Abner, Saul’s commander, sat down and chose 12 twelve men from either side to fight and they did. David’s men won the fight with his 12 men and were sent chasing after Abner.
As Paul Harvey would say, “and that is the rest of the story” or is it? To camp here for a bit we must recognize two things.
1. The people of Judah crowned David as king not David assuming the roll.
2. Saul’s Son, Ish-Bosheth, was crowned by Abner, Saul’s commander.
One lesson we must realize before we go on in our Christian life is that God will exalt you in due time. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:6 , “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” Quite often we see a void in our lives and feel pressed to fill it with something or anything we can. This could be a boyfriend/girlfriend or an extra hour on our phones or even more time spent with wrong crowd. David, in the course of time, inquired of the Lord. He did not jump to fill the gap that was open right after Saul’s death but he waited for the Lord’s direction and did not act impulsively.
Sometimes, not moving until you know it is time can save you much heartache, pain, and maybe even a few dollars as well. Practice being still in your busy life and try listening to the Lord. It may take some trying but I promise you he is always speaking to us. James 1:19 says ” My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” Don’t be the Christian that has one sided conversations with the Lord. Sometimes it is better to listen rather than to speak your mind or act impulsively.
Prayer: Father, we seem to fill the void spaces in our lives with actions and fruitless ventures because we forget to stop and listen. We hear people say, “Stop and smell the roses.” I pray today that we will stop and rest in the Lord. Help us not get caught up in filling our day with business, rather, help us focus on you and your Word in those times of silence and quiet. I pray that we will not act impulsively but I pray that we wait upon the Lord and let you renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31) I pray that we do all we can do and learn to stand firm on the promises of the Word of God and that we don’t lean on our own understanding but we acknowledge you in all of our ways so that you can direct our path. Help us be humble in the place you have us in now and realize that you will exalt us your timing. In Jesus name, amen.
Let It Go 
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