“Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod”. Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them”, he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue”
~1 Samuel 30:7-8
David knew that God was his Source. This was a vital key to his amazing record of multiple recoveries.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
~Psalms 121:1-2
In moments of loss, pain, and grief — such as when he lost everything to the Amalekite raiding party — he turned to God in prayer. He understood that all he owned were given to him by God, and that the same God could give it him all over again.
Do you know Who your source is? Or have you confused Him with His means?
Never confuse the Source with His means
“They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan- the one you testified about- well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him”. To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.”
~John 3:26-27
Regardless of how they came to you, everything you have today has come to you from God: your salvation, your power, your influence, your relationships, your opportunities.
God is the fountain of life. He may use various means to deliver His goods to us: skills, talents, opportunity, intelligence, people, hard work, etc. However, He has warned us not to confuse Him with His means.
“17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me”.
18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.”
~Deuteronomy 8:17-19
Unfortunately, most of us tend to lose sight of this truth, which is why we give more attention to His means than to His being.
“”My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
~Jeremiah 2:13
It is this misguided emphasis that creates irrecoverable losses.
Success in any endeavour is a gift from God
“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for he grants sleep to those he loves.” ?~Psalms 127:1-2
Most of us are old enough to have had lots of times when we put in our very best efforts only to reap the wind. We are old enough to know that it takes more than efforts to breakthrough. It takes the Lord working with you.
Success in any endeavour is a gift from God.
“Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
~Mark 16:20
Manipulation can only get you so far…
Even Jacob reached the point where he became tired of manipulating and turned to God.
He got the birthright through manipulation. He got Isaac’s blessings through becoming an animal. He got his two wives through 14 years of demeaning slavery. Everything he got was through sweat and trickery. That must have been painfully exhausting for him.
Genesis 32:24-30
But when he prevailed with the Lord in prayer, for the first time in his life, he got favour: Esau offered to be his escort, and he rejected it!
In your quest for recovery, you must first prevail with God before you can prevail with men.