Proverbs 26:27 warns, “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.” Saul should have learned this lesson well. Each time he tried to manipulate circumstance to the detriment or demise of David, the results backfired.
I may not hurl a spear or send someone off on an impossible mission, but I can be just as manipulative when I’m not getting my way. And more often than not, it doesn’t work out well. I’ve even tried to manipulate God with promises I know I cannot keep unless God intervenes on my behalf.
God finally showed me the root of this manipulative spirit, the real reason behind my trying to make things turn out according to my plan. It’s all about faith.
If I truly know and believe that God has my best interests at heart and that He is sovereign, why would I try to force my will to be done instead of His? If I trust that God’s got this, then I don’t need to step in and try to maneuver the circumstances. God will move mountains if needed, and if He doesn’t, I can rest in knowing that it wasn’t the very best for me, regardless of my opinion.
God sees the end from the beginning. He knows that job would have derailed me from following Him, or would have pulled me away from my family. He sees that the match I thought was made in heaven, would have been hell on earth. He has kept me from a million bad outcomes because of His love for me.
And when I face the worst circumstances, I can trust that there is an eternal perspective that I don’t yet have, which will make even the worst worthwhile in eternity. My mom mentioned a friend of hers to me the other day. This friend has lost both of her sons and yet is filled with joy that is hard to understand in the face of such tragic losses. Yet her perspective is focused like a laser on eternity. Her sons knew the Lord. Though they have left this life, they live. Though she misses them now, she looks forward to eternity with them. And she takes joy in knowing that God is sovereign.
I may not hurl a spear or send someone off on an impossible mission, but I can be just as manipulative when I’m not getting my way. And more often than not, it doesn’t work out well. I’ve even tried to manipulate God with promises I know I cannot keep unless God intervenes on my behalf.
God finally showed me the root of this manipulative spirit, the real reason behind my trying to make things turn out according to my plan. It’s all about faith.
If I truly know and believe that God has my best interests at heart and that He is sovereign, why would I try to force my will to be done instead of His? If I trust that God’s got this, then I don’t need to step in and try to maneuver the circumstances. God will move mountains if needed, and if He doesn’t, I can rest in knowing that it wasn’t the very best for me, regardless of my opinion.
God sees the end from the beginning. He knows that job would have derailed me from following Him, or would have pulled me away from my family. He sees that the match I thought was made in heaven, would have been hell on earth. He has kept me from a million bad outcomes because of His love for me.
And when I face the worst circumstances, I can trust that there is an eternal perspective that I don’t yet have, which will make even the worst worthwhile in eternity. My mom mentioned a friend of hers to me the other day. This friend has lost both of her sons and yet is filled with joy that is hard to understand in the face of such tragic losses. Yet her perspective is focused like a laser on eternity. Her sons knew the Lord. Though they have left this life, they live. Though she misses them now, she looks forward to eternity with them. And she takes joy in knowing that God is sovereign.
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