"Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."
Proverbs 16:3
There are many "good" things in this world in which we can invest our time and efforts, but sometimes our ambition causes us to be hasty.
King David learned this lesson at the expense of a human life. In 2 Samuel 6, David has decided that he wants to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. This is a "good" goal to have! Because David is a very efficient and expedient sort of man, he loads the Ark up on a wagon and begins to cart it down to Jerusalem.
This may not seem like such a bad thing, but in David's excitement to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem, he fails to follow God's commandments. You see, God gave very specific instructions as to how the Ark was to be carried. It was to be carried only by poles on Levites shoulders.
So, as the Ark was being carted down to Jerusalem, the Ark begins to slip off of the cart!! In an effort to save the Ark, Uzzah reaches out to keep the Ark from falling. Immediately God strikes him dead. Uzzah was saving the Ark from falling and being ruined and God kills him!?! Yes... God was teaching David a valuable lesson that day. Uzzah would never have had to pay for David's mistake if David had just taken the time to do things God's way.
When we have truly committed our works unto the Lord, we will read His Word and listen to what He wants us to do. As we seek to do His will, we will not be hasty to do good, but rather, we will allow God to establish our thoughts. Then we may act. "Do nothing until it's right, and then do it with all your might." (C. Swindoll)
We can be ambitious for the Lord, but we need to be cautious about our motives. Our works must be fully committed unto Him and not just be what we desire. When our goals are lined up with what the Lord would have us to do, our thoughts will be established.
In turn, "When we submit our goals and desires to the Lord, we can be sure that He will give us what is best."(Our Daily Bread)
Labels: Bible, Weekly Verse