Deeper Reflection
WHEN DAVID INQUIRED of God in his major crisis, instead of taking a commonsensical action, God answered him with His approval to act and His assurance of success (v.8). However, it is important that we do not mistake David’s experience as a full-fledged theology of seeking God and God speaking to us. Are we to seek God and act on His direction in everything every time? No. It is practically unrealistic and virtually impossible to do so. God does not expect this from us. We make countless choices and decisions every day by sheer common sense. When are we, then, to hear from God to direct us, and when do we need not to? We can glean certain perspectives on this from 1 Corinthians 7, where Paul talks about marriage and singlehood. In instructing the married not to divorce their spouse, Paul qualifies with “not I say, but the Lord” (v. 10). Then, he counsels those who became believers when they were already married to remain with their unbelieving spouse, unless their spouse wants a divorce (1 Cor 7:12-15). In this, Paul qualifies with “I say, not the Lord” (1 Cor 7:12). Then, for the betrothed as to whether to marry or not, Paul says, “I have no command from the Lord” (1 Cor 7:25). He advises singlehood in view of “the present distress” (1 Cor 7:26), as “one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy” (1 Cor 7:25). As we daily walk with God faithfully, we will know when we should adopt the posture, “not I say, but the Lord” and when it should be “I say, not the Lord”.