2 Samuel 2:1-4


Do you ever get lost? I mean is your inborn sense of direction a little off at times?

My mom shared the following story when we were together at Easter. It illustrates that, I, come from a long line of people known for its not-so-keen sense of direction. My mother recently joined a lodge club called, I kid you not, The Moose. A girlfriend invited her several times and my mom decided that it would be a great way to get to know some new people. So one rainy evening my mom goes to The Moose and she stays for a couple of hours and then decides that it is time to leave. However, when she gets to the parking lot there is one small problem: her remote button for her car will not work. She keeps pushing it but the car will not open. So, here my mom is standing outside in the rain and she can’t get into her car. She goes back inside and tells one of the men working at the club her problem. He is a gentleman and he accompanies my mom outside to see if he can figure out what the problem is with her remote. No luck. Each time they push the button, nothing—no lights, no lock release—nothing. By this time, my mother is getting quite desperate and her trouble is creating a small crowd of spectators who try to offer their suggestions and help. By this time, the options are to either break a window or call the fire department. They agree that the less evasive choice is the better one. So one of the men gets on his cell phone to call the local fire department to come and help open my mother’s car. Suddenly my mother who is continuing to push the button on the remote, believing somehow there will be a different outcome, notices that a car way down yonder has it’s lights coming on and off each time she pushes the remote. It is then and only then that my mom with her inborn sense of direction realizes that all of this time she has been standing out in the rain trying to get into somebody else’s car. (The car that, seconds ago, she and her new friends had considered breaking the window.) Her car, which looks identical to the car that she has been trying to get into for the past 30 minutes, has been sitting down about ten cars and back a couple of rows further down the way. So much for the Mitchell sense of direction!

The older I get the more I can relate to my mom. There seem to be a growing number of times that when I exit Deaconess Hospital or St. Mary’s Hospital I have to walk around for a while because I have forgotten which level I parked my car on or which row I parked in before entering the hospital. I know that people must look at me and laugh sometimes but I just can’t help it. And just a few weeks ago, one daughter called me convinced that her car had been stolen in the school parking lot only to get called back a few minutes later with, "I found the car, dad." Ever have that problem yourself?

Perhaps you can relate to Christopher Columbus, who, as they say, He didn’t know where he was going when he left, didn’t know where he was when he got there, and didn’t know where he had been when he had gotten back.

Can you relate? Of course you can regardless of your age. We’ve all scratched our heads a time of two, if not in parking lots, at least at the cross roads of life. The best of navigators have wondered, do I take the job or leave it? Accept the marriage proposal or not? Leave home or remain home? Build or buy? Tall or grande?

One of life’s giant-size questions is: How can I know what God wants me to do? How many times have you asked that question? If you are like most people, more times that you care to count, right? And David asks it. He’s just learned of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. Suddenly the throne is empty, and David’s options are open. So David inquired of the Lord about what to do (2 Sam. 2:1). David makes a habit of running his options past God. (Last week’s story was an exception rather than the norm for David when he did not inquire of the Lord.) God answered and told David what to do. David is at a crossroads in his life and he is consulting God about the next step.

Oh, that God would do the same for us. That we could ask and he would answer. That we could cry out and he would reply: Here’s what you should do; or here’s where you should go; or this is what you should say. But as we know it is not all that easy, is it? But there are some important lessons to be learned from this story of David.

I. Consult Your Maker

The God who guided David guides you. You simply need to consult your Maker. God hasn’t changed. He still promises to guide us. "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left" (Isa. 30:21). "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). There are many promises concerning prayer of God’s Word. Consult your Maker. Discover his direction by marinating your mind in his writing.

Do you have a Bible? You probably do. If you don’t have a Bible then see me after the service and I will make sure that you get one.

We talked about the importance of reading our Bible in confirmation class a few weeks ago. I would guess that we forget about the importance of regular Bible reading at any age—confirmation age is not so different. But we have to get into a regular habit of going to the Bible to see what God thinks and to get a better idea of His direction for our life. Does that mean that we go to the Bible for a specific answer to specific questions—well, no, not most of the times. I think that approach works rarely. But more so, it is about developing a mind for what God desires and God’s ways by reading his words regularly and thereby having a sense of what God’s position is on certain things so that when we encounter issues in our lives we are better prepared to deal with them. It is like studying ahead for a test that you are certain the teacher in going to spring on you but you just don’t know when or how hard it is going to be so you study ahead. I know that for most of us it is not typical to study ahead but it is necessary and the way that it is done with God’s word.

II. Read Your Bible

Has any other book ever been described in this fashion? "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

"Living and powerful." The words of the Bible have life! God works through these words. Max Lucado writes, "The Bible is to God what a surgical glove is to the surgeon. He reaches through them to touch deep within you."

Haven’t you felt his touch? In a late, lonely hour, you read the words "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:15). The verse comforts like a hand on your shoulder. When anxiety eats away at your peace, someone shares this passage, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, and let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6). Put the word to work. Let "the words of Christ…live in your hearts and make you wise" (Col. 3:16).

What else can you do to find God’s direction for your life? You have a Bible? Read it. You have a family of Faith? Consult it.

III. Consult your Family of Faith

Others have asked your question. You aren’t the first to face your problems. Others have stood where you stand and wondered what you wonder. Seek their advice. "…whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their faith" (Heb. 13:7).

Is your marriage tough? Find a strong one. Wrestling with business ethics? Seek good advice from a Christian businessperson. Battling midlife decisions? Before you abandon your family and cash in your retirement, take time to get counsel. You have God’s family. He will speak to you through it. And will speak to you through your own conscience.

If you are part of the family of God, consult them. This is one of the invaluable parts to being in a small group. A small group within a church is a place for us to learn and to share and to support one another as we seek to live the Christian life. Our small group just had a celebration: a wedding. Don’t you think that every member of our group was present for the wedding because we care and we want to be a positive influence in this young marriage. We want Jack and Stephanie to succeed as a couple. If you are not in a small group you are missing out on some great support, advice and help. Consider joining a group. They are always listed in your bulletin week after week. And I think that it is fair to say that each group is open to new people. I am excited to say that we have a new group that will be starting in June for older youth through college age. You will be hearing about it more as we get closer to the kick off for the group.

You have a heart for God? Heed it. Have you seen the marquis on the Lloyd Expressway from one of our west side churches it reads: "You have to have a heart for God before you can have God in your heart."

IV. Heart For God

Christ nudges the Christ-possessed heart. "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). What does your heart tell you to do? What choice spawns the greatest sense of peace?

Sometimes a choice just "feels" right. God creates the "want to" within us. Several years ago I had a dear friend come to me seeking some direction about a decision that he’d been struggling with. He had a desire to serve as a lay speaker. He told me that he really enjoyed talking about his faith and sharing it with others. He asked me, "How do I know whether or not God wants me to do this?" I said to him, I think that the desire that you have to do this is your answer. That desire comes from God and it is a desire that is good and will help others. I am glad to say that the friend took my advice and now serves happily every now and then as a speaking in local churches and other settings talking about his faith to others.

Be careful with this. People have been known to justify stupidity based on a "feeling." "I felt God leading me to cheat on my wife…disregard my bills…lie to my boss…flirt with my married neighbor." Mark it down: God will not lead you to violate his Word. He will not contradict his teaching. Be careful with the phrase "God led me…" Don’t banter it about. Don’t disguise your sin as a leading of God. He will not lead you to lie, cheat, or hurt. He will faithfully lead you through the words of his Scripture and the advice of his faithful.

Are you having a rough time finding your way right now? Are you feeling lost in your relationship with God? Do you need some good directions for your life?

You have a heart for God? Heed it
A family of faith? Consult it.
A Bible? Read it.

You have all you need to face the giant-sized questions of your life. Most of all you have a God who loves you too much to let you wander. Trust him…and avoid the potholes along the way.