Order of Operations

1 Chronicles 13:2 - Then he addressed the entire assembly of Israel as follows: "If you approve and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasteurelands.  Let us invite them to come and join us."

When David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he went about it the wrong way.  As a result a man was killed (Uzzah), and things didn't go well to the point that they were delayed in bringing the Ark to Jerusalem.

This passage tells us how David had gone about bringing the Ark to Jerusalem.  First, he consulted his generals and captains of the army (verse 1).  Then when he addressed the assembly, he said if they approved and it was the will of God.  Therein lies the problem.  He planned then asked God to bless his plans.

I've been taking an Algebra class lately, and one of the biggest things that is stressed throughout when solving these evil little equations, is following the order of operations.  It is very easy to do things the way we see fit, and not involve God.  The problem is, if it's not God's will for us, it's not going to turn out right.  While I am convinced that Algebra is the work of the devil, it does give us useful tools for every day life.  It teaches us to follow structure and think logically when working on something.  The Bible teaches that the structure we follow and the logic we process should begin and end with God.

In his book Pursued, Jud Wilhite talks about how much we rely on God's strength and don't realize it.  He tells a story how he was convinced that everything he had accomplished he did "On his own with God" (Chapter 4).  He points out that when the foolishness of his train of thought was brought to his attention, he realized that he did none of it on his own and that everything he accomplished was a gift from God.  Because of God's grace.

It's hard to see where we fall short, or to see where we do things the wrong way.  God will often put people in our paths to point things out that He needs us to see so that we can follow the proper order of operations and do them the right way.  We have to remember that God's will is perfect and that what we do has little significance, impact, or chance of success when we don't involve Him first.  Our order of operations for life needs to start with Him so that He can tell us the correct steps to take to follow, and then end with Him when we give Him the glory for our success.

Dear Lord, thank You so much for showing me where to go and how to do things.  I know that I may have a tendency to follow my own plans from time to time and not involve You.  For that I am sorry.  I am also grateful for Your unfailing love and grace that allows me to come to You in prayer and receive Your forgiveness.  I pray for those that have failed to pray before planning.  My prayer is that they will see that they need to rely on Your gifts and Your grace to live the life You have planned for them.  I know You will put the right people in their paths to show them.  In Jesus' name, Amen!



God Bless!!!