Trust God to Respond
Scripture
"And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle, and the men of Israel had withdrawn. He rose up and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and it clung to the sword, and the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to plunder the dead."2 Samuel 23:9-10Eleazar, one of the three mighty men with David, rose up and attacked the powerful and dangerous Philistines. He was so weary that after he had attacked the Philistines his hand was still clinging to his sword. This is a picture of being relentless in going after the enemy, not taking anything for granted. It is important to note that although these mighty men did all they could do, it was the Lord that brought about a great victory. Without the Lord, our efforts are in vain. Jesus Himself said, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” Our dependence must be totally upon the Lord, but that doesn’t diminish our responsibility to take the “Sword of the Spirit” which is God’s Word and our only offensive weapon and go after the enemies of the world, the flesh and the devil.God is an “if” “then” God. The “if” is up to us. We must first meet God’s conditions. We find this principle throughout the Bible. God will always respond; He will always keep His Word if we meet His conditions.
5 Lessons on Trusting God to Respond
- Make certain you have clearly heard from God as to what He wants you to do. Get a word from God from God’s Word.
- Study God’s character, specifically that He always keeps His Word, and He never lies to us. Jesus said, “I Am the Truth.” Think about your past. Has God ever told you He would do something and not do it? Absolutely not. His track record in your past indicates future certainty when it comes to God’s doing what He promised.
- When you are in God’s will, He is for you. His being for you assures you that it doesn’t matter who stands against you.
- Give God time to respond. Don’t get in a hurry. David says, “Don’t be as the horse or the mule” (Psalm 32:9). Don’t rush ahead of God and don’t lag behind when God says, “Go for it.” God’s timing is everything (God standard time). We get in trouble when we don’t wait for His timing.
- God may have a better plan than the one you are expecting. Trust God to give you what is best. His different answer will always be better than the answer you were asking for or expecting.