ODJ: mistaken motives
You just want to see the battle (v.28).
READ: 1 Samuel 17:24-32
I once sent a hurting person an anonymous note that included the reference for this verse: “Why are you scheming against the Lord? He will destroy you with one blow; He won’t need to strike twice” (Nahum 1:9). Why send that verse, you ask? Well, I thought I was citing Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in Him.” I cringe every time I remember my slip-up. I wanted to encourage this individual, but reading that Scripture verse probably made her doubt my motives.
Mistaken motives were at the heart of a verbal scuffle between David and his oldest brother Eliab. David had been inquiring about the reward for fighting Goliath—showing his interest in facing the giant. But Eliab accused him of voyeurism, claiming, “You just want to see the battle” (v.28). David replied, “I was only asking a question!” (v.29), and then he skedaddled. He didn’t waste his time explaining himself to someone who was looking for a fight.
Like David, we can respond by simply stating the facts when our motives are questioned. We can also adopt his laid-back attitude as we allow our noble actions to speak for themselves. David didn’t let his brother’s doubt deter him from advertising his interest in fighting Goliath. “He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing” (v.30).
When Saul and David finally discussed David’s wartime wishes, I’ll bet David was happy he hadn’t used up his emotional energy arguing with Eliab. David knew that God alone “examines the motives of our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Samuel 16:7), and that was enough for him. We too can rest knowing that God sees our hearts, and He will never mistake our motives.
—Jennifer Benson Schuldt
How will you respond if your motives are misjudged? Why is it reassuring to know that God understands all of our motivations—even better than we understand ourselves?
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March 6, 2010
READ: Philippians 4:4-7
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:7
As the high school chorale prepared to sing Horatio G. Spafford’s classic hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” a teen stepped forward to tell the song’s familiar history. Spafford wrote the song while on a ship that was near the spot at sea where his four daughters perished.
As I listened to that introduction and then the words sung by the teenagers, a flood of emotions washed over me. “Where his four daughters perished” were hard words to grasp as I listened again to Spafford’s words of faith. Having lost one daughter suddenly, I find the idea of losing four unfathomable.
How could it be “well” for Spafford in his grief? I hear the words “When peace like a river attendeth my way” and remember where peace can be found. Paul says in Philippians 4 that it can be found as our heart-prayers are voiced to God (v.6). By trustful praying, we unburden our hearts, divest our anxieties, and release the grip on our grief. And we can gain “the peace of God” (v.7)—an inexplicable, divine calmness of spirit. This peace supersedes our ability to understand our circumstances (v.7), and it is a guard on our heart, through Jesus, that protects us enough to allow us to whisper, even in the pain, “It is well with my soul.” — Dave Branon
Jesus never makes a mistake.
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