While reading 1 Chronicles this week, I was struck by a simple statement that sums up the beauty of a faith that can be confident about God’s direction and blessing in everyday decision-making. It comes before us in 1 Chronicles 17:2. The context is that David is concerned about a shelter and sanctuary for the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant with Israel. So he summons Nathan, the prophet, with the idea of suggesting that he would like to build a house for it.
Nathan’s response is the focus of this Blog. He tells David to simply do whatever is on his mind because, “God is with you.” I think this short reply is such a wonderful commentary on a Christian’s modus operandi as far as daily decision-making is concerned. One of the blessings of being a Christ-follower is the confidence that comes from what we might called, the sanctified mind.
Granted, in this story, Nathan has to come back a bit later to tell David that God has different plans in this particular case. In fact, David was not to do what he was thinking about doing regarding the Ark. Instead, God had an astounding message of affirmation for David otherwise, that included the promise that He would give him a son who would fulfill this desire. The son would be given the responsibility of building a home, a glorious temple for the presence of the Lord (ultimately a prophecy, no doubt, concerning Jesus).
This change in plans not withstanding, I can’t help but thing that the story illustrates in such a beautiful way how God has provided for the Christian’s confidence about everyday decision-making. God’s sons and daughters, His people who belong to Him through faith, can have the peace of knowing that the desires and decisions of their hearts fall entirely in God’s will, and thus His blessing. That sure takes the pressure off!
Sometimes Christians are inclined to fret about the simplest decisions. They need not because of the assurance that their minds are functioning in the sovereign presence and sanctification of Christ. This is confirmed by many other Scriptures. A couple of verses that immediately come to mind are in Psalm 37. Verse 4, and 5 tell us to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our hearts. As we commit everything to the Lord, the promise is, He will help and make our way free from trouble and guilt. Someone else pointed out that this really is the meaning of Verse 23 in this same chapter — The Lord directs the steps of the godly, He delights in every detail of their lives…
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be sensitive to God’s redirection, or promptings in our lives otherwise when a course of action has already been decided. And we should always be in a spirit of prayer for God’s help and guidance concerning our daily lives. But we needn’t worry about every little detail that we have to deal with everyday. Jesus Christ, say the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 1:30), has been made our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and redemption. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us that we have the mind of Christ.
And it isn’t the case that we can’t grow in a better understanding of the will of the Lord in any situation, and it doesn’t mean that we may not make lots of mistakes. But, the good news is that in general, we can relax in the knowledge that our minds and the decisions and conversations we have, are “in the Lord.”
ed
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