Get out of your cave

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Be and Become Podcast, featuring Francois Carr, a hardcore life and connected life ministry. Francois's international ministry equips and encourages pastors, ministry leaders, and fellow Christians as they discover what it means to truly be and become the followers they were meant to be. Thank you for joining Francois today as he offers a few words of encouragement from God's Word.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Hello everyone, a warm welcome to our weekly devotion. I trust that the Lord will speak to us through his word and be a great encouragement to you. Now we have seen in 1 Samuel chapter 19 through 22 how life has changed overnight for David, even to the point of hiding in a cave, and mostly because of his fear and not speaking to God about his problems and the difficulties that he was facing in his life. And so the question is how did David got out of the cave and brought his life in alignment to God's plan and God purpose once again? The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel chapter 23 verse 1 that David was told about the Philistines fighting against Cala, and they were robbing the threshing throws. And so David knew the significance and the importance of this that has happened to the people from their city. They planted the seeds, they prayed and they waited for rain, they've worked very, very hard for the harvest, whether it was not destroyed by drought or insects and animals that they can harvest those things because they have invested a lot of time and energy and hope in having a harvest. They need food for the winter and to sell some others to buy for the needs that they have and bowls that needs to be paid. And so when they took the harvest to the threshing floor, the Philistines came to steal that. It was a very big deal for King David. His heart went out to them, and he was touched by their needs, and it caused him to look away for a brief moment from himself and look to the needs of the people. It reminds me of the story of the governor of Nehemiah in chapter one who heard the news about Jerusalem and the walls and the gates that were destroyed, and the people's lives were in chaos. It causes him to weep and to pray and eventually travel to Jerusalem and to become part of the solution and the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem. In Job chapter 24, verse 10, the Bible tells us that God has changed the circumstances of Job when he prayed for his people, especially those that have treated him very badly in the beginning, and because he forgave them and prayed for them, it leads to the double portion of how God provided for him again in his resources and all his investments. He got some new kids and he had a long, long life that God has blessed him with. How Jesus had compassion in Matthew chapter 9 for the lost and for the needy. It seems to me that sometimes the Lord allows us to become aware of other people's needs in order for us to look away from our own problems and place within us a longing to help them. And so what did David do? He inquired from the Lord, the Bible says in verse 2. Now looking back in David's life when he faced difficulties and due to fear for his life, he did not consult with the Lord, but now he has learned his lesson. Instead of not caring or even deciding to do something about the problem with the Philistines, he took some time to inquire from the Lord. And when God answered him, he told his men, but because they did not respond positively at first, David went back a second time to the Lord to make sure that he has heard what was in the heart of God. 1 Samuel chapter 23, verses 2 and verses 4. In both cases the Lord said he must go and fight with them. And but following their victory over the Philistines, David heard that Saul is on his way to Cada to kill him. Instead of fleeing, David inquired again from the Lord, 1 Samuel chapter 23, verses 10 through 13. What I like most about this is the words of David. He said, Please tell your servant. It reminds me of Moses who consulted the Lord every step of the way as he led the people of Israel out of Egypt, and Jesus himself who could not speak or do except what he has seen and heard from his father. It is very clear when we find ourselves stuck in a hole or a cave or a difficulty, it is time not to do anything except to turn to the Lord and to check with him what we need to do. Now in Psalm 5, verse 4, the Bible tells us early in the morning David says, I will seek thee, and I will bring it unto thee, and I will wait. So David was praying, but he was also waiting for the answer. And we see we must not just pray about our problems, but also learn to listen and to wait for the answer that God wants to give us and what we need to hear from him. And then secondly, is to learn how to pay attention, how the Lord is responding or answering. God used the people's plight in Cala to get the attention of King David, and spoke to him and then sent Jonathan to him to encourage him. Verses 14 through to 18. And so what about us? David did not respond well initially to all that happened to him, causing him to be in despair and desperately ending up in a in a cave. But the good news is David did not stay there. And if we find ourselves in such a place, the good news is also for us that we do not need to stay in that place. God is the only one that knows what is best for us. And so he needs to be the one that needs to guide us and direct us daily and weekly and monthly. And he has allowed David to end up in that place, and he will also be the one that will bring David out, just like in the case for you and for I. And so what is the main point that David learned? He has learned to give all to God, to realize God is in the midst of all and to accept God is working out his perfect plan and purpose for him. But he has learned in need to consult with God in everything, whether it's great or small, before he's acting upon anything. And so what about life? It seems to me that many, many people today is working very hard and just trying to get the most out of life as possible before they die and tick off the bucketless to do this and to go to that place. Other people simply believe that they are created by God for a reason and for a purpose, and if that is the case, it is important for us to learn and to find out what is God's plan and God's purpose for us, that we can bring our lives in alignment with His plan and with His purpose. And then He can lead us step by step that we can reach our very full potential. God has placed us on this earth to be part of something that was in his heart from the very beginning, his mission to reach the world and to expose the world to the message of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he will do great and amazing things in us and through us if we allow him to work out his plan and his purpose and his processes through us. But God wants to open our eyes not just to our own problems and where we find ourselves, but also to the needs of the people around us. He wants us to turn to him and to talk about all those things with him in our lives and the lives of those people around us as we wait upon his direction and guidance and then pay attention to what happens or who comes in our lives. With the world in turmoil, and we remember and celebrate the cross during Easter and the coming of the Lord Jesus and His death, it is a good time for us to look away from ourselves and ask the Lord how we should respond to the needs and the crises of the world which is around us. Now is a time to pray and to listen to the one who knows all things and how he wants us to respond to that and how can He use us to become a blessing for other people, by having compassion for people, by praying for them as we wait upon the Lord for His guidance and direction, and as we learn to listen and to pay attention and respond, as we live our lives in alignment with God's perfect plan for each and every one of us. May God bless you in this day as you look around you to see the needs of the people and away from yourself, as you pray and wait upon the Lord for guidance and for direction, and as you wait upon the Lord and pay attention to what is happening around you and what God is doing in you, because He wants to use you to become a blessing for those people where God has uniquely placed you. May God bless you in this day.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Thank you for listening to this Be and Become episode with Francois Carr. For more information about the ministry, visit the website at ConnectedLifeministries.com. We hope you'll join Francois next time as he continues the conversation on what it means to be and become the follower you are meant to be.