Ordering, Planning, and Executing

Scripture: David didn’t keep a count of men under the age of twenty, because God had promised to give Israel a population as numerous as the stars in the sky. Joab son of Zeruiah started out counting the men, but he never finished. God’s anger broke out on Israel because of the counting. As it turned out, the numbers were never entered into the court records of King David. 1 Chronicles 27:23-24

Observation: This overall section of the chronicles - three chapters - is detailing the order and structure David decreed for all aspects of governance and operations. From worship, to finances, to courts, David defined teams with orderly responsibilities. Interestingly, in the middle of all of it, the event of David's ill-conceived census comes up. This was the event that raised God's great anger, forcing David to choose a punishment.

In other words, there is a seeming lesson about how the Lord approaches earthly work and daily functions. The Lord appreciates order. He approves of people being assigned tasks, with elements of both purpose for doing the tasks, and structure for defining who does what activities. However, the Lord disapproves of human analysis about the ability for the Lord's work to get done. He expects a level of faith. If the work is the right work, trusting the Lord in one's ability to do the work - whether that involves skill, knowledge, resources, or manpower - is part of the expectation.

The logical conclusion is that people are to trust in the Lord in all aspects of daily work and life. We are to obey to the Lord in ordering our activities and defining what work is to be done. We are to listen to the Lord regarding the plans and structure for doing such work. And we are to trust in the Lord for the knowledge, skills, and abilities to actually do the work.

Application: This is an interesting thought about the way in which the Lord guides all of us. I immediately recognize that I tend to jump around on this procedure, probably skipping some of them and varying in my diligence on them all. I may pray to God to help me do something, but never previously prayed about what I should be doing in the first place. I may receive guidance about what work or activities should be done, but then create my own procedure and model for doing it, then declare in faith that the Lord will help me do it my way.

My wife and I are about to enter a new phase in our lives. We both know it, though we haven't quite said it that way. We are both praying about it, though. This lesson today is a good understanding of how we should be praying. We first need the Lord's clarity and wisdom to define the order of our lives ... to tell us what work and activities he wants us to do next, and perhaps the purposes for such activity. Then, we should seek out the plan for such activities ... the structure of where we will do these things, with whom, and when action should be initiated. If we are obedient with these, we can certainly have faith that he will then give us all the help we could need to execute on his good and perfect will.

Prayer: Lord, as you know, we are in fact seeking your will and direction for our lives. We are entering the final acts of our earthly careers, and feel you have a purpose for us in this phase. We also see certain doors closing, but have not yet found the new, opening doors. May your will be done. Please give us your wisdom to order our steps and our path. Amen.