2 SAMUEL 2

So, now that Saul is dead, it’s time for David to ascend to the throne of Israel, right? He even asks the Lord what the next step is, and the Lord tells him to go to Hebron (vs 1). David has been waiting so long... you can almost sense his relief and enthusiasm as he addresses the men who had been loyal to Saul and praises them for all their service to the Lord’s anointed.

But then, something unexpected happens. Even though David has been anointed by the Lord to be king over Israel, and even though the people of Judah have accepted him as their king, the rest of Israel (under the influence of Saul’s cousin, Abner) have decided to go a different direction. What? No easy path to the throne for David? I thought God was on his side! But instead of David having an easy time of it, a war ensued between the house of Saul and the house of David.

Here’s something I’ve learned about God from my own life, and it seems to be reflected in David’s experience, too: God works in unexpected ways. Even when we are well aware of what His overall plan is for our lives, we often have no idea about how He will go about working out that plan. Often, it has been my experience that He never works in the way I expect. Actually, this is why I think He often doesn’t even let me in on the plan. He knows me all too well, and He knows that if I knew what the outcome was supposed to be, I’d go about trying to make it happen in the way I think would be best.

If you’re like me, you want to have control over your life—especially the things that happen to you. But God asks us to trust Him instead of trying to control our situation. He asks us to believe that He knows the best path to take—even when it looks ridiculous or impossible to us. That’s the difference between our ways and His ways, our thoughts and His thoughts. He works in unexpected, glorious ways. And how much better things would be if we could learn to sit back, relax, and let Him work!