Behaving Wisely

 "And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him." I Samuel 18:14

We spent Easter in Florida with our daughters and son-in-law. That meant a break from cows, but that didn't mean the cows were taking a break. 

Sure enough, a heifer was born. It didn't surprise me. I knew the cow would calve within a week, and she did.

However, I was not prepared for how big the calf would be.

We raise Murray Greys. This cattle breed is known for their calves weighing around 60 lbs when born. This particular heifer was probably a few days old before I could give her an ear tag. Even so, she likely weighed more than 60 lbs at birth. 

While I did catch and "throw" her (so she is lying on the ground), Momma cow was upset. She's had a few babies by now, and I've never had a problem with her. In fact, she's somewhat of a pet. However, her behavior changed, and I blame the dogs. 

If you know anything about cows, you've probably heard that momma cows are more dangerous than bulls when protecting their young. This is God's way of helping them deal with predators. While our little 10 lb chiweenie dog could hardly be characterized as a predator of cattle, this momma cow was not taking any chances.

I frequently have the dogs with me when I am out in the fields. Neither of my dogs are fierce protectors, but they give me a sense of safety. At the very least, they sound the alarm if someone they don't know comes near (even someone they know that takes them by surprise). In Texas, wise counsel (aka special rangers) recommends having a dog with you, because illegal aliens (or anybody for that matter) may cross your property, and you don't know what they'll do. It seems a good excuse to have my dogs tag along.

Back to the cow.

I caught the calf, threw her down, and found momma's nose blowing very near and her face a great picture of agitation. The calf weighed more than I'm used to and, being an older calf than what I normally catch, was strong and lively. In the course of trying to keep it down to check gender, health, and tag...well, I dropped my tagger and the ear tag fell out. Meanwhile, the calf is struggling to get up, lifting me off the ground with it. Momma cow is growling (yes, I'd say cows can growl...not quite the way dogs do, but the meaning is the same).

I gently pushed against the cow's nose, something that is usually enough to tell my cows to back off. This momma didn't. And I suspect she may have even pushed back a little. At this point I had lost track of my little dog and based on where the cow was looking, I was pretty sure the dog was behind me.

Now, that put me between the cow and the dog, and I'm pretty sure that cow meant to chase that dog and toss her over the fence. So, yes. I let that calf up and moved out of the way. 

Guess what, not only did the cow chase the little dog, she chased my Border Collie as well.

So, jumping off that calf...I'd say that was behaving wisely.

I did get the cow and calf up to the corrals and the calf safely tagged and ensured its good health.

I suspect that David in I Samuel wasn't tagging calves and dealing with angry momma cows. But I bet he dodged a few fights and negotiated some tense situations. His success, however, put him in a very prickly spot with the king.

Now, I do believe God keeps me safe with my cattle. I believe He has blessed me in handling them and in the overall operation of our ranch. As you can well imagine, a lot can go wrong.

Imagine how much more David was aware of the Lord being with him when he dodged King Saul's javelin twice. Not only that, but when David fled to Samuel, and King Saul pursued, the Spirit of God came upon Saul, and he stripped off his clothes and prophesied. God caused Saul to do the most unlikely thing a man bent on killing another man would do, completely expose himself all day and all night and talking about what great things God was going to do. (Read about it in I Samuel 19).

Behaving wisely doesn't always get you out of trouble. Some people are just bent on causing you trouble. However, wisdom will take you to God, and God will work it out as He deems fit. Are you wise enough to trust that what He deems fit is good enough for you?

"The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." Proverbs 13:14

After God's Heart

"...I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will." Acts 13:22

Have you ever wondered what really made Saul different from David? 

Saul was chosen by God to be king. So was David.

Saul was anointed by Samuel. So was David.

The Spirit of God came upon Saul. The Spirit of God moved David to write the psalms.

Saul sinned to save himself. So did David.

But God rejected Saul and called David a man after His own heart, even though God had given Saul another heart (I Samuel 10:9). So, what was the difference?

The elders of Israel saw that Samuel was old and that his sons did not walk in his ways. They looked around at the other nations and saw that those nations were ruled by kings. The time was coming when Samuel would die, and Israel would need another ruler.

Samuel was the last judge that led Israel through many difficulties. Each time a judge died, the Israelites fell away from God and did what was right in their own eyes. They would then be led into captivity, God would give them another judge, and they'd be saved. I'm sure the elders looked at their history and decided they didn't want this to happen again, so they'd forgo waiting for God to raise someone up after they'd gotten themselves into trouble. They would start a royal line.

But they were not looking to God. They saw the judges, mere men, instead of God. They assessed the situation and came up with a solution that still left God out of the equation.

God told Samuel to hearken to them and make them a king. He told Samuel that man would be Saul.

Saul was a man of Benjamin, the son of a mighty man of power. Saul was a 'choice young man', in Hebrew bakhur, which refers to a young man of mature age and often implies beauty of form. Saul was a goodly man, which means he was pleasant, agreeable. He might even have been considered upright. We get the picture that he was a cheery person, easy to get along with and kind. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Saul was his height. He stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

In fact, from the outward appearance and surface personality, Saul seemed the perfect pick for a king.

The Israelites wanted leadership. They wanted to show the nations around them that they were not a people to be trampled upon or to be taken advantage of. Saul, from first appearances, would do nicely. And God gave to them what they wanted.

But Saul had issues. Saul belittled himself:

"Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou to me?" I Samuel 9:21

We might think of this answer reflecting his humility, but humility isn't about thinking of yourself lower than you are. Humility is seeing who you really are, even as God sees you.

I'd venture to say that even at this point, Saul was fearful. Certainly, we see his fear through the rest of his life.

To confirm that Saul would be king, God turned him into another man (I Samuel 10:6). He gave Saul another heart (note that I Samuel 10:9 doesn't say a new heart). God gave Saul another will, another understanding, another inner man with a different set of emotions, passions, appetites. Saul's first heart, his original inner man, was not after God's heart, and this would cause him problems.

And the Spirit of God came upon Saul at times, then Saul would prophesy.

But Saul had a lacking that made him distinctly different than David. Saul did not trust God. Like the Israelites, Saul put his trust in Samuel, the judge. When Samuel didn't come on time in I Samuel 11, Saul turned to the ritual of sacrifice to draw the people back to him.

Later, Saul again disobeys God and trusts his own wisdom.

"...It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments...." I Samuel 15:11

When Samuel confronted him, Saul admitted his sin, but he didn't ask God to forgive his sin. He asked Samuel to and asked Samuel to join him so that he could worship God. Saul was not interested in a personal relationship with God. He looked to Samuel instead. Saul grew to love his power as king and began to see God as someone to get him out of trouble.

David, on the other hand, loved God. He sought an intimate relationship with Him. His heart was after God's. David gave God the glory for his victories. He was confident in what God could do and that gave him self-confidence. He wasn't perfect. He made mistakes and he sinned, but he sought God for forgiveness, not seeking the forgiveness of some spiritual leader. And David accepted the consequences of his sin with a humble heart, seeking God's mercy and passionately desiring God's intimacy once more.

Through my life I've come across many people. Some of them great, some of them small. Some with plenty of self-confidence. And some pridefully ashamed of themselves. In studying these two men in the Bible, I've asked myself who do I most closely resemble? I suppose I have a bit of both in me.

One thing I do know, I burn inside to know God more. Like Saul, I live in this flesh, but praise be to God, through Jesus Christ, I live by His faith, and I am a new creature.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." II Corinthians 5:17.

I now have a heart after God. My passions, my affections, the essence of my understanding of life, my determinations and resolutions, all these parts of my inner person are after God, desiring to please Him. That is the new creature. That was David's heart. I'm not perfect at this (in fact, very imperfect at it), but I have learned that this is the better way.

The main difference between truly godly people and people who are religious, is their relationship with God. A godly person is one who worships God while enjoying the presence of God. A religious person worships God while enjoying the presence of other men. 

Godly people put their intimate relationship with God ahead of other people. Religious people are concerned with the outward appearance of their faith.

Godly people enjoy fellowshipping with God and prefer to maintain that fellowship over following the crowd. Religious people desire to have the appearance of a relationship with God, will worship to appease or to appeal to God, but fellowship is not attained because the adoration they owe God is placed on the act of worship or on an object of worship other than God. God will not give His glory to another.

"Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me." Psalm 63:3-8

Your Marching Orders Are not Mine

 

"Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel...Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have..." I Samuel 15:2-3

"And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue...And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all." I Samuel 30:8

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When I was fourteen our Sunday School teacher had us write our life plan. I don't remember the purpose or the lesson, but I do remember my plan because it had been my dream since I was old enough to ride a horse. I would raise horses and travel to rodeos and horse shows from Texas to Canada, and wouldn't get married until my late 20's. The only part I accomplished was not getting married until I was 29.

A few years ago I spent time visiting family in Alberta. I sat on the banks of the Bow River, looked around at the vast prairies stretching for miles. No people. No cars. No trees. No noise. No concrete. Just the beautiful expanse God created both in the heavens above and the earth below. I marveled that I could ever have left.

Going home creates a cluster of cumulus clouds inside me. On the one hand, I desire to stay to enjoy the tremendous freedom found in the Canadian prairies. On the other hand, I know that God has other plans.

Four years after that Sunday School lesson, I picked potato beetles off plants for a company a few miles from home. Each morning I'd take a jar, walk through their garden, and pick beetles and other bugs until there were none left. Then I would spend the better part of the day mowing lawns, trimming, painting, and whatever else they'd have me do. I had plenty of time to think, pray, and meditate on Bible verses while I worked. Seeds God planted earlier in my life took root, and His desires began to blossom in my heart. Little did I know in a couple of years I'd be leaving my beloved Alberta prairies.

God's purpose supersedes our own desires and dreams. He gives to one person one order and to another a different.

Both Saul and David fought the Amalekites. God sent Saul to destroy all that the Amalekites had because of what they did to the Israelites hundreds of years earlier. Saul was not to keep the spoil.

After the Amalekites raided Ziklag, God told David to pursue and recover all.

Different orders. Both instances of vengeance.

Have you ever wondered why? God had a different purpose for David than for Saul. Saul and David were also different people with different faith.

Why was Saul not allowed to keep the spoil? Was this simply a test of obedience?

Concern for what others thought often became the catalyst for Saul's actions. He didn't stand up for what was right and rarely consulted God on his own. He had less concern for his relationship with God than he had for public opinion.

The incident where Saul disobeyed, keeping the spoil after fighting the Amalekites (and then blaming the people) revealed Saul's character.

David took the spoil, obeying God, and spread it to the elders of Judah (I Samuel 30:8). David's character revealed.

God doesn't always give everyone the same marching orders, and we need to be careful not to judge another whose orders are different than ours.

At times, we turn our preferences or our own convictions into laws we expect others to abide by, looking down our noses at them for not living how we think they should--not realizing that perhaps God gave them a different order.

As a child, I though all people growing up in the city were dumb, because they didn't know anything about farming or living in the country. For a period of time, I lived as a city-dweller. God has  sense of humor.

After living in a variety of places and having experienced a variety of cultures, I realize we can all be 'dumb' when we are outside of our known habitat.

Perhaps some of the greatest distancing I have felt from others has been when they feel they must raise their experience in life above my own--not knowing me or my life. And I am ashamed to say I have done the same from time to time.

God gives each of us unique experiences, and we need to respect that. He knows our characters. He knows what we need to go through in order to grow or to humble us or to reveal Himself to us in a way we'd never considered before. The reasons for our individual paths are as vast as He is.

If I had set out to accomplish the life plan I wrote at the age of fourteen I would be most miserable, because I would not be living in God's will. God had other plans for me.

My life journey is completely different than my sisters, both who stayed in Alberta and farm. Their lives are no less nor greater than my life. God's marching orders for us were different. He designed our lives to be different. He assigned them to us because He knew each of us inside and out. Yet, all three of us can attest to God's blessings, goodness, mercy, and grace.

Lord, thank you for knowing me and taking me on this amazing adventure that is so much bigger than I had planned.

"Every way of a man is right in his owns eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts." Proverbs 21:2

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9