Recovery Devotional 310 Opportunity is Not License

JMD Devotional 310 1 Samuel 24:1-6 Opportunity is Not License

WHEN SAUL returned from following the Philistines, he was told, Behold, David is in the Wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul took 3,000 chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men among the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the cave's innermost recesses. David's men said to him, Behold the day of which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hands and you shall do to him as seems good to you. Then David arose [in the darkness] and stealthily cut off the skirt of Saul's robe.

Afterward, David's heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. He said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this to my master, the Lord's anointed, to put my hand out against him, when he is the anointed of the Lord.

Many people tend to interpret opportunity as some kind of sign. The childhood superstition that every situation either represents God’s approval or disapproval manifests itself in the assumption of a ‘go ahead’ where He may be silent. Many Christians like to navigate through life looking for open and closed doorways, as if God were our door attendant, and the brain He gave us was carry-on baggage for a passive passage through life. I believe that most ‘opportunities’ are actually tests: a test of your integrity, searching out the basis of your choices, measuring your priorities, forcing you to manifest your underlying beliefs. David’s men were wrong! Fortunately, before David bloodied his hands the Holy Spirit convicted his heart to not attack the Lord’s anointed (though he was a wicked king). David rightly understood hierarchy; that it was God’s domain to deal with his superiors. Letting situations determine ones actions results in a situational ethic that is inconsistent in the moral dimension. Righteousness is our God-given, unerring compass.

Dear God,

Many times I confused opportunity with license; forgive my foolish reasoning and presumption. Help me to use the grey matter You have given me better, to wrestle with the moral and spiritual implications under the influence of Your Holy Spirit. Guide me to righteous choices, to make better decisions, to live with integrity and wisdom. You are well capable of dealing with the big issues; save me from undermining my superiors, from railing against those You permit to be in power over me. May I live in harmony and peace under Your sovereign rule.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

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