Running In Circles

Philippians 3:³ For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, ⁴ though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason. Paul did trust in human efforts, even though his walking along a road is a human effort. Paul was talking way beyond just walking, but living completely surrendered to the Lord's will, and that will was evident: Spread the gospel message. Paul's writings are full of his example of "following the Spirit" of God, so Paul was very focused on what was ahead. He would consult God about whether to go to a certain area or not, and God would answer His requests with fine-tuned excellence, and Paul would go where God led him.

We were beneficiaries of Paul following God's leading when Paul had a vision of a man saying, "Come over here and help us." Paul answered that call, and Europe was evangelized through the years following, and that evangelism then came to America. Sadly, Europe has fallen prey to humanism at its worst, and I pray for revival and awakening for them. God is not doing a good work there, and awakening seems to be on the horizon. Praise God!! Here is the scripture of Paul's call to Macedonia in Acts 16:^6. Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.⁷ Then, coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. ⁸ So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. ⁹ That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

As you can see, God is very specific with His instructions, and He is the one who keeps us from running in Circles. King David was known to have a heart after God, and God came through for him again and again, despite his many failings. In 2 Samuel 5, God was speaking to David and giving him direction in order to win a victory over the Philistines. David had just become king of Israel, and the Philistines had heard about it. They mobilized all their forces to capture him, but David had heard they were coming, and He went into the stronghold. David asked God in verse19 ¹⁹ So David asked the Lord, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied to David, “Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you.” Guess what happened? The Philistines were defeated, and the first thing David said was, "The Lord did it!"

Which is a great word of truth for each of us to follow God at every turn and ask Him to show us the way in our lives, and He will do it. Those pesky Philistines came back after a while to try and capture David, and here is what God did this time in 2 Samuel 5:²³ And again David asked the Lord what to do. “Do not attack them straight on,” the Lord replied. “Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees. ²⁴ When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on the alert! That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.” ²⁵ So David did what the Lord commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon^[g] to Gezer.

We are not the ones who are found to be walking around in circles, because it is those who go up against God who will lose their focus and wander aimlessly. We must be focused and only focused on listening and following God's directions to defeat the enemies in our lives. God is our all in all, and He is our focus and direction, and like David, we will get direction from Him if we open our eyes and our ears for that direction. God is the One who is our vision and the One who gives us our vision. Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.

Follow God and you will have your vision for your life, and at every turn He will guide you and He will show you His will at every turn, and it won't be you running in circles. You will have a direct vision that uses the very gifts He has given you for service. Ask Him and He will show you the way to go, and that path is straight and narrow.

Today's Message,

David Warren