Follow God's plan

Deuteronomy 1:41-43 (NLT)
41 “Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the Lord our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country. 42 “But the Lord told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’ 43 “This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the Lord’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight. 44 But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah. 45 Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen. 46 So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.


The Israelites had sent spies into the Promised Land. When they returned the spies who saw the land said two things; the land the Lord was providing was indeed good and there are giants there who were mightier and taller. Moses tried to reassure the people God was with them, but their lack of faith and trust caused the hand of God’s blessings to be removed. Instead of repenting for their sin they decided to take their own actions. In arrogance they went into the land to fight and the Amorites who were indeed larger and more powerful defeated them. The Israelites then cried to the Lord over their sorrow, but God refused to listen for He had told them not to go.


Abraham Lincoln said, “Men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between the Almighty and them. To deny it, however, in this case, is to deny that there is a God governing the world.” When we grasp hold of an opinion without looking to God for guidance we often find there is a difference of purpose between God and ourselves. In our arrogance we pursue our own purpose just to find out we lack the understanding and wisdom to see what lies ahead. Our plans often will fail and it is then we seek God because we are miserable in our failure. Learn to seek out God’s purpose and plans before executing your own. Let God be your guide to wisdom and understanding. Let God fight your battles and trust that His results are for the best benefit of all. Remembering King Solomon’s words, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”