God’s Promises Are Greater Than Your Plans | 1 Samuel 4:5-11

God's promises are greater than your plans.

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

This week, we are reading 1 Samuel 4. I've titled this chapter "Misusing Divine Power."

In the first few verses of Chapter 4, we discover that the Israelites were at war with the Philistines. They engaged in a short battle between the towns of Ebenezer and Aphek. They sustained some losses, and then they got the crafty idea to bring the Ark of God to battle, so let's see how that turns out in the next reading, verses 5-11:

As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.” So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. — 1 Samuel 4:5-11

Man Up And Fight

As we can see, there was initial excitement about the idea. Even the Philistines were initially frightened by the understanding of how God had defeated an empire in Egypt that was far greater than them. But then the Philistines rally, resulting in a raging slaughter with 30,000 dead, and the ark is compromised.

I find it especially interesting that if you look at this situation only from the perspective of the Philistines, you would be convinced that the victory resulted from courage in facing adversity and their resolve to "be men and fight." But we know it wasn't. This situation fulfilled the prophecy spoken by Samuel, stemming from the disobedience of Eli and his sons. God determined the outcome of this battle, not the Philistines or their courage. And because Israel had not trusted in God's power and tried to use his power for their pleasure, he was going to display his power without them.

Limited Perspectives Make Wrong Deductions

Humanity often has a limited perspective on God's plans. We can only see immediate events, so we make deductions based on what we can see. When we cannot see God's plans, we sometimes become uneasy. Instead of trusting God by faith and obeying him, we take matters into our own hands. In doing so, we justify our actions and make natural human deductions that do not align with God's intentions. Like the Philistines and the Israelites, we may think we need to "man up and fight." While this approach could lead to an occasional victory, it can also result in catastrophic failure. Regardless of the outcome, we must recognize that our deductions and connections may not necessarily be correct, even if we have manned up and fought.

Both Israel and the Philistines were about to learn a hard lesson: God's promises are greater than their battle plans.

God's Promises Versus Your Plans

You have plans. You have career plans, financial plans, marital plans, family plans, and retirement plans. You battle for these plans. Sometimes, you think you need to put in more effort and fight harder. But occasionally, your plans will contest God's promises. Given your limited perspective, you will mistakenly think fight harder. Sometimes, you might win and wrongly think you did it, mustering more courage for another fight. Sometimes, you will lose, causing you to reflect and change course.

Before you man up and fight, here are four preliminary actions:

1. Immerse yourself in God's promises.
2. Let God's promises inform your perspective and plans.
3. Be obedient.
4. Trust by faith.

Then, man up and fight. If you don't do this first, you will only end up fighting against God, and no man can man up, fight, and win against God's promises.

#GodsPromises
#TrustHisPlan
#FaithOverFear

Ask This:

1. How can you discern between your own plans and God's promises in your daily decisions and pursuits?
2. What steps can you take to cultivate a deeper trust in God's promises, even when faced with uncertainty or adversity?

Do This:

Do all four actions.

Pray This:

Father, help me to surrender my plans to Your promises, trusting in Your wisdom and sovereignty over my life. Grant me the courage and faith to follow Your lead, even when it requires letting go of my own understanding. Amen.

Play This:

God of the Promise.