Special Sunday Edition
Ethan Barton, Pastoral Resident, Tallowood Baptist Church
It’s a great thing when following the Lord becomes a matter of habit. Those of us who have been Christians for a very long time have gotten so used to obeying Christ’s commandments that we could do it in our sleep. Habit is a good thing—that is, until habit gets in the way. And oh, how often it does.
David is to be commended in this story, because he didn’t let habit get in the way. He had been fighting Philistines for years, and the Lord had always been with him and granted him victory. Surely he could keep operating as usual and keep winning, right? Usually, it’s our best and easiest times when we forget to call upon the Lord. But David didn’t. Even though he had just pulled off a routine victory over the Philistines days before, he still made sure to go to God beforehand again. And good thing he did, because God had a nuanced plan in mind.
Once again, habit can be a good thing. But one of the Devil’s favorite tactics is to convince Christians to revere their own habits more than they revere God’s words. We tend to get comfortable with the familiar. We tend to resist change, because change stretches us. We tend to assume that we already know God’s mind adequately. But who can possibly know the mind of God, which transcends all human understanding? What do we do when God leads us in ways we’re not used to, ways that differ from our idea of what’s right? Do we stick to our habits and traditions, or do we allow God to grow us?
Paul would later write this in Romans 11: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” May we always share that same awe. May we always allow our habits to be broken by the goodness of God which surpasses all that we understand. Perhaps if we do, then we, like David, will hear the sound of the armies of God marching ahead, leading us to victories we never imagined.
