Did God Really Tell You That?

Did God Really Tell You That?

October 27, 2009 in Blog View Comments

Many of you who have been reading this site for a while already know how I feel about statements such as “God told me…” or “The Lord wants me to go and…”. In 1 Samuel 24:4 David is hiding in a cave with his men when Saul (who is trying to find David and kill him) just happens to go into the exact same cave in to use the bathroom. While in the cave David’s men make the following statement:

“Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’”

So David cuts off a piece of his Saul’s robe without him noticing putting him at David’s mercy. David’s was surrounded by good men who were committed to their leader’s success and well being. Their statement was meant to encourage and motivate him to do what they felt was the right thing to do. The only problem is, God never made that statement.

So were the men intentionally lying to David? I don’t think so. What could possibly be happening here is what we see all the time. Someone is convinced that a certain decision needs to be made in a particular way and to add further backing they make statements such as “I really believe this is what God is telling me to do.” Is that person intentionally lying about God in order to get their way? Perhaps sometimes they are. However many times that is not the case.

The point I want to make here is that this story is a biblical example of how easy it is for us to say “God said…” in order to either support our own desires, or because we fear being wrong in our decisions and we need a higher power to blame when things don’t quite work out (“Well I guess God changed his mind”).

So maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to make such statements. What do you think?

,

Robert

I love theology and the challenge of making deep teachings non-boring. Let's face it, most of the time we hear theological teaching, it really is boring. Does it really have to be that way? Nope.

  • rjohn05
    Good stuff Tommy. Thanks.
  • Tommy
    I think this has a lot to do with how people are interpreting scripture and how they believe the will of God works in their lives. Many take verses like Proverbs 3:6 and misinterpret it to say, "And He will direct your path" when in fact it translates, "And He will make your paths straight" meaning easier. When I do see the word direct (NIV) or lead (NASB) used in scripture in Isaiah 48:17 where it says, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go", it is directly followed by "If only you you haid paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea."

    All this is to say that Christians often wander through life wondering what God is specifically telling then to do when a simple examination of whether or not they are violating His commandments will give them the answer. They worry over things like "where should I go" and "what should I do" when instead they should be looking at whether it is goes against the moral or sovereign will of God that is given to us in scripture. Like you said, "their own selfish desires" arise when they are looking for direction. But because their selfish desire is sinful, the answer is already in front of them, and of course they try blame a higher power when their "well-being is not like a river."

    Please note that I'm not taking an extreme view here and implying that God doesn't sometimes tell people exactly what they should do. Rather that they should acknowledge that they were born with the capacity to sin and it is in their nature to be drawn toward their own desires. Therefore they should not act on feelings but instead analyze and look through the "eyeglass" that is the word of God.
  • Robert
    Good stuff Tommy. Thanks.
  • Tommy
    I think this has a lot to do with how people are interpreting scripture and how they believe the will of God works in their lives. Many take verses like Proverbs 3:6 and misinterpret it to say, "And He will direct your path" when in fact it translates, "And He will make your paths straight" meaning easier. When I do see the word direct (NIV) or lead (NASB) used in scripture in Isaiah 48:17 where it says, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go", it is directly followed by "If only you you haid paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea."



    All this is to say that Christians often wander through life wondering what God is specifically telling then to do when a simple examination of whether or not they are violating His commandments will give them the answer. They worry over things like "where should I go" and "what should I do" when instead they should be looking at whether it is goes against the moral or sovereign will of God that is given to us in scripture. Like you said, "their own selfish desires" arise when they are looking for direction. But because their selfish desire is sinful, the answer is already in front of them, and of course they try blame a higher power when their "well-being is not like a river."



    Please note that I'm not taking an extreme view here and implying that God doesn't sometimes tell people exactly what they should do. Rather that they should acknowledge that they were born with the capacity to sin and it is in their nature to be drawn toward their own desires. Therefore they should not act on feelings but instead analyze and look through the "eyeglass" that is the word of God.
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