CONSULT WITH GOD

Jos 9:14 The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD.(NIV)   Hye dear reader and praise the Lord. Welcome once more on this platform as we sharpen, encourage while uplifting each another. I got a challenge for each one of us including myself. So how many times have you sympathized with someone , something , or even situations. Probably very many times. To me waaa!!! i have fallen in the trap severally .Therefore you are not alone hehehe. Quoted from the English dictionary, sympathy is a feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another.While empathy is the capacity to understand another persons point of view or the intellectual identification of their state. Wow,,, i hope we all notice the difference.So now , after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years the long awaited conquest of the promised land begins. In their effort to possess the promised land and while in consultation with the Lord Joshua and the Israelites drove the communities away. As the news about their victory became widespread, the Israelites experienced opposition from kings and within this period ,the Gibeonites came up and they deviced a plan.Rather, they resorted to deception to save themselves from Joshua and the Israelites .They sent ambassadors to Joshua ,loading their donkeys with weathered sandlebags and old patched wineskins.They put on worn-out , patched sandled and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy. When they arrived at the camp of israel at Gilgal,they told joshua and the men of israel ,”We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.Your servants have come from a very distant land .We have also heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all He did in Egypt and what He did to the Amorite kings too .This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes ,But now ,as you can see ,it is dry and moldy .These wineskins were new when we filled them ,but now they are old and split open.And our clothings and sandles are worn out from our very long journey.”
Sympathy begin😊…

So the Israelites examined their food ,but they did not consult the Lord.

Then Pap!! Joshua finally makes a peace treaty with them and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath. Three days later after making the treaty, too bad, they learnt that these people actually lived nearby and that they had trapped them in the name of the peace treaty. What would they do anyway and a treaty is binding. Previously, God had specifically warned Isreal of making treaties with the inhabitants of Canaan as in ;Exodus 23:32 Make no treaties with them or their gods. They must not live in your land ,or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods ,you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.How often we have also forgotten or assumed to seek Gods wisdom and direction because may be a situation appeared godly or may be because we wanted to prove as kind. Consider this practical example for those of us who are younger and at one point or another are sensing Gods leading to relate with an intention of getting married ; in  the case of a lady, your friend (a guy) has been interested with you for a while now, and from his persistence, you feel sorry that you have been giving him a negative report all the while. While you closely examine yourself , you realise that this has always pulled you down bigtime to a point you are now ready to sympathise with Him once and for all. Dear friend, rethink your decision while consulting with the Lord. Its okey to back down until you are sure and clear that God has approved of your decision. After all being in the will of our all knowing father and doing His will matters .A mentor once challenged me on the subject “Listening to God” This is what he asked ” Besides your fears, joys ,your wants, what is God saying ” I pose the same question to you. And that’s the simplicity that comes with consulting and hearing God. Remember; we are all vulnerable to making the same mistake like Joshua. Mark you, Joshua was one man that was so commited to God.He knew enough to talk to God before leading his troops into battle. Again we are all vulnerable to falling in the same mistake unless we learn to inquire of the Lord to the slightest details of our lives.  May God also open our eyes that we may see beyond the natural. Narrowing down to my personal incites of the day i appreciate this;

1. That sympathy alone is not an enough reason for action.
2. Consulting with God in every detail of my life is really important.
3. An oath strengthens any agreement.
4. Before the conclusion of a matter its important to investigate in advance as i seek God’s guidance.
5. Keeping the instructions of God at heart is an important remedy to sin .                                                                          

Prayer
Our heavenly Master, i thank you for  your word. Your word that is true and very practical. Would you continue opening our eyes to seeing wonderful things in your law and living them out.
Amen!!