Has God ever said “go” and you said “no”? Has He said “slow” and you say “how fast”? Then the Lord said “come” and you run. The Lord Himself did that several times in Scripture and continues to do so now in, via the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Several Bible heroes failed in their response to the specific directive of the Lord. The prophet to the pagan northern Kingdom of Israel – Jonah – was instructed to go to the despised city of Nineveh (now Mosul in Iraq) and preach salvation to them. Nineveh was just as bad as the bad guys in the middle east now, if not worse. Their brutality was unsurpassed and well known in Jonah’s homeland – the 100% rebellious land of Ancient Israel. They had suffered under the Ninevites….and would suffer again, when God sent them to completely wipe out that country from His memory.
The Lesson here is this – when you’re a Christian worker, church leader, volunteer or even a mature Christian who should know better and God asks you to do something, it is a wise to listen. It is not only smart to do so, but also to act on what He says. Failure to even obey reluctantly could endanger others and then cost you a huge blessing.
King David was told by God to NOT take a census at a certain time during His reign. (CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ACCOUNT). David was a man who should have known better at this stage in his life, but he went ahead and ignored God. He took the census anyway. The Bible literally says that “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census” (1 Chronicles 21:1).
What does this mean? Well, it means that Satan, the world and the flesh knows our weaknesses and always goes for the reaction which is predicated on Pride. David’s huge pride led him to disobey God, take the census and people died. Our pride does the same thing when we think we know better than God since we are the ones who know this or that process for victory. The system also says it will work this way, if we do it and do it now. So we not just disobey but get ahead of the Lord and often fall flat on our faces.
Moses did as he was commanded here. It is simple and plain as day. Later on, NOT doing as commanded would cost him his natural life. This time, Moses’ taking of the census would serve the plans of the Lord well, for organizing the new nation of Israel by tribe and function. Moses did as God said. We should too, when He reveals His Will, through His Word, no matter what the task or how BIG the job. Think of Moses - one man - attempting and completing, the job of doing a Census of up to two million people. He had no computers, calculators or clipboards. All He had was the Lord and that is more than enough.
TRUTH: A follower of the Lord, a Christian will be called on by God to do certain things which accomplish three purposes: Advance the Kingdom, Mature the Believer and Glorify God. This is what we committed to when we were first saved and surrendered our lives to Christ.
LESSON: When Abba, our Father Who IS in Heaven calls, it is more than advisable to say yes the first time….or even reluctantly, while still doing it. Disobedience has dire consequences for not just the disobedient but quite possibly, for generations to come.
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