[Discoveries] 06-29-07 Trouble and the will of God

[Inspiration in Your Inbox]

/*The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. -- Judges 20:18*/

Today I want to take on the myth that if you do God's will, everything 
will go smoothly. Sorry, folks, it just doesn't always happen that way.

Judges 19-21 tells the sad story of a violent crime and a quest for 
justice. Evil men were shielded by the tribe of Benjamin, and the rest 
of the Israelites went to war with them.

Is this a good time to seek the Lord? You bet. Why do you inquire of God 
before a battle? Because you want to make sure you're doing the right 
thing. Because you don't want to get killed or wounded. Because you want 
to win.

Those seeking justice inquired of God. God said go for it. They went for 
it and lost. So they inquired of God again. Again God said, "Go up 
against them." (Pretty clear answer if you ask me.) Again they lost.

Now 40,000 men are dead. And the men still alive and gloating over their 
victory are the very men who committed the crime.

I bring this up because some of you may have inquired of the Lord, got 
His direction, ran with it, and now everything is going wrong. Those 
around you are saying, "See, there's something wrong with you. You 
didn't get it right." And inside there are voices that say, "I must be a 
fool. I must have thought I heard from God, but I didn't."

Not necessarily. David followed God and went from the frying pan into 
the fire. Moses did what God told him to do and things only got worse 
for the people of God.

We all want the will of God to make us healthy, wealthy and wise. But 
sometimes it doesn't, at least not at first. Sometimes the will of God 
takes us on difficult paths that we would not choose for ourselves.

It's easy to jump to conclusions when we see people in trouble and 
assume that they've missed God. But that isn't always the case. 
Sometimes they are in the exact center of God's will.

God does straighten it all out in the end. The Israelites triumphed on 
the third try. David became king. Moses brought his people out of Egypt. 
Jesus rose from the dead. And so will you.

Be encouraged!
Dwight


A big "Thank you!" to those of you who support our ministry.
_http://www.dwightclough.com/donations.html_

Contact us here: _http://www.dwightclough.com/contact.html_
Live near Madison, Wisconsin? Check out _http://www.Kim51.com_
Change your subscription: 
_http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/discoveries/attachments/20070624/f257efd8/attachment.htm>