II SAMUEL
Listen to this study TH3112
Please turn in your Bibles this evening to II Samuel chapter 4 as we continue our study through the Word of God. We saw last time the nation of Israel basically divided into 2 kingdoms. David reigned over Judah, and Ishbosheth, king Saul’s youngest and only surviving son, reigned over the 11 other tribes of Israel. For the nation of Israel, this was a troublesome time as strife and civil war broke out with the death of king Saul and his son Jonathan. But for Saul’s remaining son, Ishbosheth, he was more of a puppet king; he had no real power himself. In fact the power behind his kingdom came from Abner, his military leader.
As we moved into II Samuel chapter 3, we see that David’s military leader, Joab, has killed Abner. And Joab acted on his own, an act of retaliation for Abner killing his brother, Asahel in battle. Joab was a loose cannon and David knew that. And keep in mind that David did not condone Joab’s actions nor was David aware of what Joab was going to do.
In fact, David had just made a peace treaty with Abner but now Joab put a stop to that by killing Abner. And this could have driven a wedge deeper between David and the rest of the nation. But instead, they see David’s heart in the matter, that he was totally unaware of what Joab was doing, that he grieved over the death of Abner, and thus they rally around David. God used something that was meant for evil to elevate David in the eyes of the people. And now David is being strengthened while Ishbosheth is getting weaker and weaker.
That is where we will pick up our study this evening, as Ishbosheth is in trouble, his power is gone with the death of Abner and now what will happen to him and what will happen to David? Let’s begin reading in II Samuel chapter 4, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us as we study His Word.
Why was Ishbosheth so weak? Because he placed his trust, his power in the hands of a man and when that man died, so did his power! And Ishbosheth understood this fact, he knows that he is in trouble and as the leader goes, so goes the people. You see, “all Israel was troubled” by what they saw and what they heard. They realized that their king was nothing now and it was only a matter of time until he was overthrown and then what would happen? What a lesson for us. If we are looking to man to save us, strengthen us, maintain our power, we better look out!
It is as Psalm 5:11-12 tells us, “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.” You see, our joy, our strength is in the Lord and if it is not, then we too will lose heart, we will be troubled.
It is as Psalm 118:6-14 tells us, it speaks of who we need to trust in and who we are not to trust. The Psalmist said, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” Perspective is everything and yet, we tend to put our trust in men rather than God and we are always disappointed because apart from God we can do nothing!
Here we are given some information on two men, brothers by the names of Baanah and Rechab, Benjamites. And these two brothers will take advantage of the situation that Ishbosheth is in, powerless without Abner. And we will pick up on their story starting in verse 5, but here in verse 4 there is some information given to us about Jonathan’s son.
Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, was only 5 years old when news came back that Saul and Jonathan were dead. And as his nurse picks him up to flee, she drops him on the ground probably breaking both his legs. And most likely the bones in his legs never set right and it caused him to be crippled in his legs. We will deal more with Mephibosheth when we come to II Samuel chapter 9 as David seeks to fulfill the promise he made to his friend Jonathan. But for now, this is just some information that we will need to know when we get to II Samuel chapter 9.
Ishbosheth came from the tribe of Benjamin and yet, these Benjamites had no loyalty to him. They saw his power gone and they come in and murder Ishbosheth and cut off his head, taking it with them. Why in the world did they do this? Because they want to side with a winner and not a loser like Ishbosheth, so they believe they are doing the right thing, in their minds anyway. As you will see, bringing the head of a rival king was the thing to do, but when you do that with David, it usually did not turn out too well, in fact, in never turned out well as we will see!
How often do people do evil things and feel that they are servants of God, doing what God has called them to do? We see that here with these men. They felt that God wanted David as king, and He did, and thus, it justified their actions in killing Ishbosheth. First of all, in David’s mind, Saul was not the enemy even though Saul wanted him dead. Thus, neither were Saul’s sons the enemy of David, but again, that is the conclusion these men came to and they will find out it was a wrong conclusion!
David tells these two brothers that God has preserved him from his enemies in the past and He is able and will continue to do so. He does not need anyone to fight His battles for Him. Ishbosheth was recognized as king by 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel and yet these guys feel very comfortable in killing him. That was the wrong solution to the problem. And David goes on to recount what he had done to the young Amalekite that boasted in killing king Saul. He too thought he was going to receive a reward from David but instead David had him put to death for killing the “Lord's anointed.” And so David has these two brothers executed for their actions upon an innocent man who was sleeping in his bed.
It does sound extreme but think about it, these men were not acting for God but their own selfish ambitions and if David had condoned their actions, it would have divided the kingdom even more. Thus, it is as Keil and Delitzsch wrote, “Thus David acted with strict justice in this case also, not only to prove to the people that he had neither commanded nor approved of the murder, but from heartfelt abhorrence of such crimes, and to keep his conscience void of offense towards God and towards man.” What a lesson for us to learn. Let God deal with those situations and out of it you will see the peace that God can bring. Or, we can act on our own and see the death and destruction we can bring to situations.
After several years of civil war in Israel, the people now recognize David as their king. What is interesting to me is that they saw the leadership of David when Saul was their king, they knew the hand of God upon David’s life to be king, that God had anointed him as king and yet, they only followed after David when their leader, Ishbosheth was murdered! You see, they had no other choice in the matter and now they turn to David and make him their king!
Before we are too hard on the children of Israel, how often do we recognize Jesus as our king only after our other choices, our other options have failed us, they have crumbled away? You see, we are no different, and thus, may we learn the lesson and let Jesus be Lord and Savior of our lives, that He is truly king in our life and we remove ourselves from the throne!
In I Chronicles 12:23-40 we see the coronation of David and it is spectacular. The soldiers that came for this numbered over 340,000 men and of this we are told, “All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king. And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. Moreover those who were near to them, from as far away as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys and camels, on mules and oxen — provisions of flour and cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, wine and oil and oxen and sheep abundantly, for there was joy in Israel.”
What a celebration it must have been. It could have been some 15 to 20 years earlier that Samuel said in David’s ear, “Daviyd, you are the next king in Israel” and now it has come to pass! And what a lesson for us not to give up on God for what He has promised He is more than able to bring to pass as we see here with David. Good things come to those who learn to wait upon the Lord!
Why did God wait so long to raise David up? I lean towards the idea that God was working in David so that He could work through David. Now don’t get the idea that David had to be perfect before he was king, but God needed to do some work in him before he was king over all of Israel and he reigned for forty years, 7½ of those years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem over all of Israel!
David’s first order of business as king was to move the capital from Hebron to Jerusalem. You see, the Jebusites had control over the city of Jebus, which will become the city of David, or Jerusalem. The Jebusites had control over this city ever since the time of Joshua (Joshua 15:63), for some 400 years now. Sadly the children of Israel had not completely driven out the enemy from the land. And as you read through the books of Joshua and Judges you still see pockets of enemy resistance throughout the land. Thus, the Jebusites had control over the city of Jebus and felt very secure, that their city was impregnable.
Now keep in mind that the city of Jebus sat on a hill, which had the Kiddron valley to the east. To the south was the valley of Hinnom. To the west was the Tyropoeon valley. The only side where there was no natural protection was the north side. But the city walls were made of heavy stone and from the top of this hill you had a clear picture of what the enemy was up to. You could throw down stones; shoot arrows at them with ease as they tried to advance towards you. Thus, they felt very secure within the walls of the city, for this city had been in their possession for years. Israel, up to this point, was never able to capture this city.
In fact, these Jebusites felt so secure about their city that they taunted and ridiculed David and his men. They are so comfortable with their fortress that they feel even the handicapped of their city could defeat David and his men. And what does the Bible have to say about those that have this kind of pride? We are told in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” And that is exactly what we are seeing here. Now we need to remember that at this time the city of David or Jebus was small, only some 2-city blocks long, and a 1/2 of a city block wide. But after David took the city he began to enlarge it and Solomon expanded it even more during his reign.
Now just having a mighty, secure fortress would be meaningless if you did not have a fresh water supply to draw from. The problem was that this water supply was usually outside the city gates and thus, if you were under attack, you could not go out to get fresh water. And without water the enemy could just wait until you got so thirsty that you opened the city gates to get to the water, and they would attack you.
But the Jebusites had dealt with this issue and done so very effectively. They had made a shaft or a tunnel from inside the city leading outside the city to the water supply. This shaft lead down a staircase made into the rock, which led to a horizontal, semi-circular tunnel that was located about halfway down to the spring. At the end of this tunnel is another shaft that goes even farther into the mountain and it is at the bottom of this shaft where there is a water-filled channel that leads to the spring of Gihon. They would lower a bucket down into this channel and bring up fresh water for the city and yet to climb up these walls would be an almost impossible feat, and then attack the inhabitants of the city, impossible. You see, this last shaft was 45 feet straight up, and you had to climb it just to get to the passageways leading into the city.
So David offers anyone who would be able to enter the city by this shaft to be captain over his army. And, according to I Chronicles 11:6, we are told that Joab was the one who was able to do this. Thus, as Joab entered the city through this shaft, he was able to open the city gates and allow David and his men to capture the city and it also enabled this loose cannon to be in charge of David’s army!
One more point before we move on because there is application of this event for our lives. We too have strongholds in our lives, areas that are difficult for us to conquer and yet, if we truly allow Jesus to be king in our life, to rule from the throne of our life, we too can see victory as these strongholds come tumbling down. It is as Redpath wrote, “I want to say to you in the name of the Lord Jesus that there is no habit that has gone so deep but that the power of the blood of Jesus can go deeper, and there is no entrenchment of sin that has gone so far but the power of the risen Lord, by His Holy Spirit, can go further.” Or as Paul put it, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. . . . And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16-17, 24-25.
We see David fortify the city of David now and he continues to grow in the Lord and because of that we see the success that he has.
Now there are many out there who try to deny the existence of David, or say that if he did exist then he was not really a king over a kingdom as large as the Bible tells us. Let me share this following information because it is amazing how people like to deny the events in the Bible and then when archeology shows that they are true, they still don’t believe them. But listen for yourself and see who you want to believe. We are told:
Who has never heard of King David? There are probably not too many Christians who have not heard of King David.
What many Christians
probably do not realize is that, until recently, other than David’s
occurrence in the Bible, there has never been actual proof that
he ever existed. Over the years this has given fuel to certain
groups wishing to view the Bible as a huge trip into the allegorical.
However, all of this changed in 1993. Recently, your author learned
for the first time what I am going to attempt to tell about here.
You might think that given your faith, it doesn’t really
matter whether there is proof of David or not. But think for a
moment of the implications of our Bible being definitively proven
by actual
physical evidence. It would be like having
your cake, and someone putting icing on it!!!
In 1993 (as
told in the March/April 1994 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review),
Avraham Biran and his team of archaeologists unearthed a piece
of stone with fragments of writing on it. In the writings was
the words “House of David”
It was the
first mention of David in ancient inscription outside the Bible.
The fragment was found at Tel Dan which lies by the head waters
of the Jordan River, near Israel’s northern border. The large
piece of basalt was part of what must have been a large monumental
inscription. It contains 13 lines, but no single line is complete.
The surviving letters are clear, however. Line 9 contains the
words “House of David”.
After the complete
translation, it was determined that the fragment was part of a
victory stela erected in Dan by an Aramean boasting a military
victory over the House of David. Many questions are raised as
well as many possibilities upon comparing the fragment with the
Biblical history. For instance the victory of the Aramean would
conflict with the episode in the Bible. However as BAR points
out, there were probably many battles and not all were recorded
in the Bible. We do know that Israel must have regained control
of Dan.
This find would
perhaps seem simple and to the point, but that is far from the
truth. The find began a debate in earnest. Immediately following
the find, many came forward to state that the stone did not actually
mention the “House of David.” Along with this claim
came the accusation that those believing that it did mention David
were “Biblical Maximizers.” The arguing was fast and
furious. The debate inspired letters to the editors displaying
the anger, emotion, and dismay from Christians. How could this
new proof be denied? While the verbal debate raged, researchers
and scientists quietly built a case on the very evidence the naysayers
demanded. Another scholar, Andre’ Lemaire wrote an article
in BAR stating that there was another mention of David in an earlier
find. It was called the Mesha Stela proclaiming victory for the
Moabite king Mesha over the Israelites.
Then in the
Impact section of our own The State in December of last year,
an article appeared proclaiming that scientists have found that
the Bible is built on facts as well as faith. Many fragments have
been found in the same area, all mentioning David. Finally, scholars
have reached the consensus that David was real, something many
of us have never doubted, even before the stelas were found. Although
scholars are not ready to admit the Bible is historically true
across the board, they are willing to concede that the “Bible
has a sound historical core.” One thing is certain, these
finds don’t only have repercussions in a religious sense,
they reach into many domains--political, personal faith, historical.
I can’t say in learning about these finds that my faith has
grown any stronger, I can say that I have a new appreciation for
the Bible as an accurate historical record as well as a basis
of faith.
- http://www.jesusemptytomb.com, 4 March, 2010, 13:22
Look at the influence David had with other leaders already. Here we see Hiram, who was the king of Tyre not only send the materials but the craftsmen down to David to build him a house to live in, a beautiful palace. Tyre was known for its beautiful cedar trees and its craftsmen.
We are also told that “David knew” and what he knew was very important. You see, Saul knew that the people established him as king. Saul knew that the kingdom belonged to him. Saul knew that his kingdom was for him. And that just brought disaster to the nation. But David saw things differently. David knew that it was God who not only called him but established him to be the king over Israel. David knew that his kingdom belonged to God; in fact it was His kingdom! And David knew that all that was happening to him was so that he could be a channel to bless his people by. That folks should be the heart of any leader, anyone who is in ministry. And I can honestly tell you that if I did not believe that God has called me to be the pastor here, if I did not believe that this was His church, if I did not believe that God was using me as a channel to bless you, then I would have packed up and left a long time ago. You see, if He is not in it, what is the purpose? I guess the purpose would be to exalt self but that does not end well as we have seen with Saul! Do you see the growth of David here and that is what the Lord has for us at whatever capacity we are serving Him!
As much as this was a common practice in those days for kings to have many wives, this was in direct opposition to what God has said regarding the kings of Israel. In Deuteronomy 17:17 we are told even before they entered the Promise Land, long before there was a king in Israel, what the kings were to do and not do. And specifically we are told, “Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away . . .” And yet David did not listen. He loved the Lord, but there were still those issues that God was dealing with him and in the end, it will be this multiplication of wives and their children that will hurt David, bring trouble to his family!
And I do find this interesting because David is not getting into trouble when things were tough, but when things were going well. He is being blessed not only by his own people but other leaders. Prosperity, as much as we like it can often get us into trouble. Why is that? Because we tend not to look to the Lord when things are going so well for us. But when things are going south, when things are falling apart around us, where do we go? We go to the Lord most of the time because we realize we can’t fix the problem on our own. The key is to look to the Lord in good times and bad times, to look to the Lord all the time. That is the safest and best place to be, in Him!
Now there are some who say that this one man to one woman relationship was not established until the New Testament and thus, David and the others did nothing wrong! I disagree. We are told in Matthew 19:1-9, and yes I know this is in the New Testament, but listen to what Jesus has to say and you will see that this was not something new, but God established it in the very beginning. We are told, “Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.’ They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.’”
You see, in the book of Genesis, in the very beginning, God established that a marriage relationship is between one man and one woman and that is it, no exceptions, even if you are a king, even in the Old Testament. Thus, David was wrong!
Now two of these names are of importance to us, Nathan and Solomon. Both are sons born to David and Bathsheba through which Jesus would eventually come from. And obviously he is not married to Bathsheba yet, but we are just told the names of the sons that would be born to him in Jerusalem. Now, in Luke you will see that Mary is a descendant of Nathan, a blood descendant of David. And in Matthew we see that Joseph is a blood descendant of David through David’s son Solomon. But there is a problem, for God placed a curse upon Coniah, who is also known as Jehoiachin or Jeconiah), a descendant of Solomon. (Jeremiah 22:30). Thus, Jesus could not be born from this line through Solomon for it was cursed. But Jesus was of the linage of Nathan and thus was from David, and yet he still has access to the throne through his adopted father Joseph. You see, an adopted son had all the rights of his father, but the curse did not pass through because it was not a bloodline. Thus, Jesus is heir to the throne of David.
Why are the Philistines rising up so quickly against David, the new king in Israel? Remember that David was living in Philistine country and he got Achish to believe that he was on their side and cut his ties with Israel. He was so convincing in his lies that Achish wanted him to go to battle against Israel but the other lord’s of the Philistines refused to let him go thinking if he sides with the children of Israel, they will be in trouble! And now they see that David was truly lying and they are coming against this new king thinking that maybe his army is not strong yet and they could crush him!
And notice what David does as he is faced with this difficult situation. He brings it to the Lord to see what the Lord would have him do! Even before he took one step, he goes to the Lord for guidance. Now as we look at this situation, it does seem obvious what should be done. The enemy is warring against us, we need to go and fight against them. But as obvious as it might be, it could be wrong and thus, we need to bring everything to God in prayer so that He may show us what to do!
There is a lesson here for us and it is pretty simple. When you are serving the Lord, as God is blessing the work you are doing for Him, the enemy will come in and try to stop you and he will use whatever tactics to get you to stop or to take you out. He may use discouragement, doubt to stop you. He may bring things in your life that will cause you to stumble and take you out of the work. He does not care as long as he gets you to cease what you are doing. May we be wise and understand the schemes, the wiles, the plans of the enemy so we do not fall prey to them! And may we bring everything to God in prayer, even and especially when things are going well!
God gives David and the children of Israel a great victory and they carry away the idols of the Philistines that were left behind, obviously destroying them. What were these idols doing there in the first place? The Philistines brought their idols into this battle as kind of a good luck charm, but that did not work. And it is sad when your idols, your gods can be carried away!
Now we are more sophisticated today and we don’t have
idols we carry around or worship, or do we? Some of you may remember
the incident that happened last year when the Catholic saint of
lost things and lost persons, Saint Anthony went missing! What
do you do when this saint goes missing? Is there a designated
hitter that comes in until he is found? Well, you tell me how far
we have come from the days of David and what the Philistines were
doing and what many still do today. This is from Inside, The official
site for UW-Green Bay News and Features. They wrote regarding
this missing idol or saint:
When
the patron saint of things that are missing goes missing, people
still pray to that patron saint. [I can’t imagine why you
would pray to a saint of lost things that can get lost!]
And in this instance, it worked, said Joan Jadin, owner of a statue of St. Anthony that was stolen from the chapel her family built in the woods that would become part of the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum.
“It’s the power of prayer. Never under estimate the power of prayer,” Jadin said. “There were a lot of people praying for St. Anthony, and now he’s back here.”
Joan and Norbert Jadin take care of the inside of the LeMieux Chapel, which became a lasting part of the UW-Green Bay campus when the University acquired the land to expand the arboretum about 25 years ago.
Joan’s grandparents built the chapel on the back of their property when they lived on Bay Settlement Road decades ago. Under terms of the LeMieux sale, the University agreed to routine chapel upkeep. It could not, however, pledge scarce resources to structural work in keeping with the arboretum’s nature-first mission.
Joan and Norbert were heartbroken to hear that the statue was stolen from the always-unlocked chapel sometime in early summer.
They called local media outlets to report the news and seek help in its safe return.
It paid off. [I think his picture was placed on the back of milk cartons!]
A passerby discovered the statue in a ditch in the Baird Creek Parkway a few miles from campus. It was spray painted white and St. Anthony’s hand had been broken off. But it was in otherwise good condition, and her family was thankful it was not completely destroyed, Joan said. [I guess it was just a flesh wound for those of you who watched Monty Python!]
“It felt wonderful, just wonderful, to see that it wasn’t all broken into pieces,” Joan said. [It was wonderful to see that your god was not broken in pieces? How powerful is this god? Oh, that’s right, he is only the patron saint of lost things, not a fighter!]
A local artist gave St. Anthony a fresh coat of paint and carved a new hand based on the original look of the approximately 80- to 90-year-old statue. [Nothing like a fresh coat of paint for your god! I guess this is plastic surgery for statues!]
On Thursday (Oct. 1), the Jadins returned the statue to its space behind the alter in the center of the chapel.
Local media outlets from Green Bay covered the event as the story of the missing patron saint of things that are missing came to a happy ending—St. Anthony is no longer missing. [What a happy ending, they were able to retrieve their saint of lost things!]
- St. Anthony returns to Chapel, Inside, The official site for UW-Green Bay News and Features
How said this really is. People will pray to a lifeless idol instead of the living God. We don’t need a good luck charm, we need the Lord and may we not forget that!
We do not know how long after the Philistines were defeated the first time that they rise up again to fight against David and the nation of Israel. Now God had given David the first victory, why did he have to ask God what to do in this battle? Why didn’t he just do what he did the first time since God guided him in that victory? Because the Lord wanted David to bring everything to Him in prayer and not just rely on his past victories. God did not need a new battle plan for victory but again, God wanted David to come to Him for direction. This was for David not for the Lord! And God gave him a new plan, to circle around them and when they would hear the “marching in the tops of the mulberry trees” then they were to attack and they did and they were victorious! Victory is always found in obedience.
Now what is this marching in the tops of the mulberry trees all about? Was it just the wind blowing? I don’t think so! Spurgeon put it like this, “As the Rabbis have it, and it is a very pretty conceit if it be true, the footsteps of angels walking along the tops of the mulberry trees make them rustle; that was the sign for them to fight, when God’s cherubim were going with them, when they should come, who can walk through the clouds and fly through the air, led by the great Captain himself, walking along the mulberry trees, and so make a rustle by their celestial footsteps.” It is possible.
Now some may complain that we don’t see God working like that today. Adam Clarke made these comments on that. He wrote, “How is it that such supernatural directions and assistances are not communicated now? Because they are not asked for; and they are not asked for because they are not expected; and they are not expected because men have not faith; and they have not faith because they are under a refined spirit of atheism, and have no spiritual intercourse with their Maker.” What a lesson for us, to bring everything to God in prayer and expect Him to answer it, because God does answer all of our prayers. I know you may not believe it but He does. Sometimes He says, “Yes!” And sometimes He says, “No!” And then there are times that He says, “Not yet, wait a while!” You see, He does answer our prayers, but are we listening and willing to obey as David did!
Let me close with this. Don’t ever think that just because God did something one way in the past that He is going to continue to do it that way. If that is the way we are walking we will fail. God has a specific plan for each situation and you must seek Him daily for direction. God does not have to alter His plans to be victorious, but He does alter them so that we can bring our requests to him and trust in Him in everything. Never assume anything, but bring it before God and you will be victorious in your walk with Him. It is as Paul said, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-9. May we do that because God wants to guide us, direct our lives if we are willing to come to Him and as we do His peace will fill our lives and overflow into our actions!