Our lives can get so complicated that it’s hard to figure out how to get from where we are to where God wants us to be. We all make mistakes and it’s easy to start thinking about what might have been if we had done just a few things differently. But I don’t think it’s helpful to regret things you have done and start asking yourself, “What if I would have followed God?
What if I hadn’t done this or that?” Satan uses thoughts like that to beat us up. Rather than reliving the past, it’s better to understand that God has ways of getting us from where we are to where we need to be after we surrender our lives to Him. It’s always better for us to focus on the solution instead of the problem.
The Old Testament book of First Samuel tells the story of Saul, Israel’s first king. Saul’s story is miraculous from the beginning. He was anointed king while he was out searching for some lost livestock. Then he stopped by to ask the prophet Samuel for help. He went there thinking that Samuel might be able to tell him where his lost donkeys were, but instead, Samuel told him that he was going to be the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 9:14-10:1). At that time however, Saul had no desire to be king.
Despite Saul’s humble beginnings, he was anointed by God and became a powerful ruler. He led the nation of Israel in battle and won great victories. The people rallied around him. But two years into his reign, the Philistines gathered to fight against him in such large numbers that the men of Israel became afraid and ran off to hide in caves.
Saul regrouped the people to fight against the Philistines, while he waited for Samuel to come offer a sacrifice before leading his men into battle. (The offering was a request for the Lord’s blessing before they fought the enemy). Saul waited the appointed time for Samuel to arrive, but he didn’t come. The people grew restless and began to scatter. It was a crisis situation. So Saul decided to make the burnt offering himself, instead of waiting for Samuel any longer.
And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.In those days, only priests who were anointed by God to offer sacrifices could make a burnt offering. We don’t know what caused Samuel’s delay, but regardless Saul was wrong in overstepping his bounds and moving into the office of a priest. Saul wasn’t anointed to be priest; he was anointed to be king. By assuming the role of priest, he took authority that he knew he didn’t have. Saul said “I forced myself,” which shows that he knew it was wrong. He was admitting that normally he wouldn’t have done such a thing, but the situation compelled him to do it. So he did it even though he knew it was wrong.
I Samuel 13:9-12
Saul’s behavior reveals a character flaw that’s true of many people today—the tendency to do whatever is in their immediate best interest, regardless of whether or not it’s the right thing to do. Christians shouldn’t live like that. We need to be people of integrity. If God tells us to do something, we should do it. God’s will should be non-negotiable for us, regardless of the circumstances or consequences. Unfortunately, not many people live that way.
Anyone who allows an excuse to cause them to deviate from what they know is right will end up getting off course. We need to get to a place where we drive a stake in the ground and say, “This is non-negotiable. If God tells me to do something, I’ll stand here and do it, even if it kills me. I will not change.” We have to be uncompromising about the will of God, because we will veer off track once we start giving in to circumstances. Saul knew he wasn’t supposed to offer that burnt offering, but he forced himself because it was the convenient thing to do. It might have seemed like a good reason at the time, but he knew he was disobeying God. He compromised.
And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.This is amazing. Samuel said that if Saul would have obeyed God that day, he would have ruled over Israel forever. Instead, God chose David to replace Saul as king. If Saul had obeyed God, there never would have been a King David. We never would have heard of him, because David wasn’t God’s first choice. Saul was not just a temporary king until David came along. Saul was God’s first choice.
I Samuel 13:13-14
This incident happened in the second year of Saul’s reign (I Samuel 13:1). Then Saul reigned for another 38 years (Acts 13:21). We also know that David was 30 years old when he finally became king at the end of Saul’s reign (2 Samuel 5:4). So that means that Samuel prophesied that “the Lord has sought a man after His own heart,” eight years before David was even born! God said He had sought out a man after His own heart, long before David was even conceived.
David was born to be king—that was his purpose—but he wasn’t God’s first choice. David became king because Saul failed to do what God called him to do. But look what God did with second best! David became a mighty man of God. He was a man after God’s own heart and he accomplished great things.
We can’t second guess about what could have or should have been. If you have wasted time chasing your own dreams or made some bad decisions, don’t get caught up in mulling over the past. Just start seeking God. Submit yourself to God. He can take wherever you are today and make His Plan B for your life better than you could ever have imagined Plan A would be. The fastest route to God’s perfect will for your life is to simply start seeking Him today.
Saul’s life also demonstrates that God doesn’t sovereignly move us around and make everything automatically work out according to His will. Saul didn’t cooperate with God, therefore he missed God’s will for his life. Don’t get worried though—God has never had anybody qualified working for Him yet! We will all make mistakes, but God is so awesome that He can take the little bit we submit to Him and use it to accomplish His will.
Success is the Greatest Temptation
And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.David was a man after God’s own heart even though he didn’t do everything perfectly. In those days, kings were forced to wage war when the seasons and weather allowed. This scripture says that it was time for kings to go forth to battle. David was king so he should have been leading his troops in battle. But David had become so prosperous that he didn’t need to go; he had generals under him who could lead the troops for him. So David stayed home and got away from what God called him to do.
2 Samuel 11:1
When David was running for his life from Saul and it looked like he could die at any moment, he sought God with his whole heart. After he became king, he subdued his enemies, extended the borders of the nation of Israel, and prospered greatly. God blessed him and he was more successful than any other king before him. But he stopped seeking after God wholeheartedly.
The awesome truth we need to understand here is that the greatest temptation we face in life is success. Hardship is not the worst situation in our lives. Even someone with a minimal commitment to the Lord will seek Him when the pressure is on. Failure and disaster typically drive us into the arms of God. Success is different; it makes us feel like we can make it all on our own. When everything is going good and the pressure is off, or when we don’t have to seek God because it looks like everything is going our way, the contents of our heart will be revealed. Success, not failure, is the true test of character. The question is: Are you going to seek God as strongly during the good times as you do when you are struggling?
The majority of people seek the Lord more when they are in trouble. When everything is fine, they forget all about God—they don’t seek Him, they don’t pray, and they don’t study the Word. This is what makes them more vulnerable after a victory than they are during life’s struggles. When things are good, people tend to forget their need for God; this leads to trouble.
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.David was bored. He was sleeping all day, staying up all night, and not doing the things God called him to do as king. If he had been out fighting his battles, this temptation would never have come. David was bored hanging around the palace and ended up getting into trouble. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and she conceived a child. To cover up their adultery, David plotted the murder of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah, who was one of the mighty men off fighting the wars David himself should have been fighting. After Uriah was dead, David took Bathsheba as his wife (2 Samuel 11:6-27).
2 Samuel 11:2-5
David got himself into a pretty bad situation, which shows how even a person who has a heart for God can get way off track. The lesson for us is that when things are going well, we should seek God even more than we have been. The moment we achieve our dreams is the time we are most vulnerable to an attack. After a victory, we need to be more dependent on God than we have ever been in our lives.
The Bible says, “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27). Boy, that’s putting it mildly. God was ticked off! The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to expose what David had done. Nathan went to David and told him a story about a rich man who stole his poor neighbor’s only lamb, killed it, and used it to feed a guest. David said,
“Any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!” After David made his pronouncement, Nathan said “You are that man,” and gave a prophecy that the child conceived by Bathsheba in adultery would die (2 Samuel 12:1-14).
I’m reading between the lines here, but I believe the reason Nathan presented the prophecy in parable form is that God was letting David prescribe his own judgment. Scripture says that God will show mercy to those who have shown mercy to others, but to those who haven’t shown mercy, God will have no mercy
(see James 2:13 and 2 Samuel 22:26). David knew this principle because he had written about it himself. If David had been merciful,
I believe he would have received mercy in return. But because he showed no mercy to the man in this parable, David passed sentence on himself and received no mercy. As a result, the child died and there was turmoil in his household.
After the death of his baby, it says that David comforted Bathsheba and they conceived another son whom they called Solomon. The Lord loved the child and sent the prophet Nathan to announce that his name was Jedidiah (2 Sam. 12:25), which in Hebrew means “beloved of the Lord.” God anointed Solomon to be David’s replacement as king of Israel (1 Kings 1:17; 1 Chronicles 28:5), and he became so prosperous that he didn’t even take any account of the silver in his kingdom (1 Kings 10:21).
God never wanted David and Bathsheba to have a relationship. But after it was done, they repented. Then God took the child born to them and blessed him. The Bible says that Solomon was the richest man who will ever live—not just the richest man of his day (2 Chronicles 1:12). It says there will never be another man who approaches the wisdom and the riches of Solomon. God knows how to work things out for good!
All of this came to a person who was totally outside of God’s original plan and purpose. Saul was God’s original choice; David was second best. Then David blew it! His relationship with Bathsheba was never God’s will. Yet, after they repented, God blessed their marriage. Bathsheba is the virtuous woman whom Solomon wrote about in the book of Proverbs, and Solomon was greatly blessed by God.
Maybe you think you have blown it because of bad decisions you have made in the past, but you can’t blow it any more than David did. Yet, God took the mess David made of his life and worked it together for good—to the extent that we remember David as a great man. He certainly had faults and problems, but overall, David was used by God in a mighty way. We still sing about “the sure mercies of David,” and recognize him as the “sweet psalmist of Israel.”
God did all of this with a person who wasn’t His original choice. Even when this man messed up, God worked things out for good. Four or five hundred years after David died, God was still blessing the nation of Israel. He wouldn’t take His mercies away from them for the sake of His servant David. God made an everlasting covenant with David, resulting in blessings to his descendants even when they weren’t serving God. And all of this came through someone who missed it big-time.
I hope this encourages you. You may have made some less than perfect choices, but it is pointless to spend your time regretting the past. People have come to me and said, “I’m not sure I married the right person.” It doesn’t do you any good to go there now; you’re married, and just like David and Bathsheba, you are committed. It would be wrong to walk away or try to reverse your life and go back. You are where you are because of the choices you have made. The thing to do is humble yourself, seek God, and realize that God can take where you are right now and work everything together for good.
God Positioning System
David made some serious mistakes that cost him a great deal of agony—decisions that also cost his family a lot of pain. David’s daughter, Tamar, was raped by her brother, Amnon (2 Samuel 13:10-14), then David’s son, Absalom, killed Amnon to avenge Tamar (2 Samuel 13:28). Eventually, Absalom tried to kill David and usurp the throne (2 Samuel 15:10). David had a lot of pain and turmoil in his life as a result of the poor decisions he made. He could have beaten himself up over his mistakes, but instead he trusted God. He chose to be strong in the grace that is in the Lord (2 Timothy 2:1).
This is a great lesson for all of us.
I am absolutely convinced that regardless of where you are today or how badly you may have missed God’s will for your life, God still has a plan for you. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans:
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.God doesn’t change. Whatever His purpose for your life was when He created you hasn’t changed either. You might be a long way from where God wants you to be right now, but God can get you where you need to be.
Romans 11:29
Modern technology allows you to have a global positioning system (GPS) in your car to help you find your way around town. GPS devices even speak to you and tell you where to turn. When you are driving somewhere and make a wrong turn, the GPS doesn’t freak out and say, You missed it. You’ll never get there now.
No, if you make a wrong turn, the GPS says, recalculating. This means that the system is refiguring the directions to tell you where to go next in order to get you to your destination. If you miss a turn, it doesn’t mean you need to give up and go home. God is at least as good as a GPS. It doesn’t matter where you are—God can recalculate. God can take what you have done and figure a way to get you back on track. You can still get where God planned for you to go.
In the same manner, the gifts and calling of God never change. You may have made some wrong turns in your life, but God’s will for you has not changed. He still has a plan for you. Even if you have made a royal mess of your life, God can take what you have done and cause it to work together for good. It’s sort of like a master chess player who is engaged in a chess match; it doesn’t matter what move his opponent makes, the master player can always use that move to his advantage. Likewise, it doesn’t matter what the devil does or how much you blow it or mess up. God is able to take whatever you have done to ruin your life and turn it around.
Take Heart
God hasn’t given up on you. The simple fact that you are reading this book shows that God is drawing you and trying to reach out to you. Not a single person alive is beyond hope. No one has messed up their life so badly that God can’t take it and do something supernatural with it. But you can’t do things the way you always have in the past and expect different results.
You’re going to have to humble yourself and submit yourself to God.
How to Find, Follow, and Fulfill God's Will
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