Inquire Of The LORD

I was listening to Joshua recently and one part really spoke to me. The situation is that Israelites have crossed the Jordan into the promised land and are winning various battles. The neighbors are getting really worried about these new guys in the neighborhood wiping people out.

At one point these dudes come over from a nearby land to make a peace agreement with the Israelites, but they're faking where they are from. They wear old beat up shoes, torn up clothes, bring dried up moldy bread, and so on, so it looks like they've been traveling for a really long time. Yet they are right next door. Sneaky.

The Israelite men checked out their stuff, but they did not inquire of the LORD. Let me say that again because that's the phrase that stuck in my brain so greatly when I heard it. They did not inquire of the LORD.

Guess what happened next? The Israelites got suckered. They made a treaty with them, swearing by the LORD. Oops. Bad idea.

How often do we fail to inquire of the LORD in our own lives? Too often, consciously or not, I'm sure I'm thinking "Don't worry LORD (ha!) I've got this. I can do it. This is the way." Oh what a sorry sad waste of time and effort that is. How often do you hear people say "Well now all we can do is pray." What? Why are we not praying first instead of last? why are we trying to do so much on our own. No, let us bring everything we're unsure of before the LORD to see which way he would have us go. Let use bring we are sure of before the LORD to see if that assurance we have is really bunk.

Praise God for hearing all we have to say to him. Let us always inquire of the LORD.

Grace and Peace