Direction for Distinction. Have you ever seen anyone miss
his way after carefully following a well laid out map?
When direction is given, mistakes are avoided. When you
follow the instructions of experienced people it usually works out very well,
especially if such people are experienced in the field of which you have sought
their advice.
The foundation for distinction is direction. The end of a
matter is always better than the beginning but there is never an end in sight
if there is no beginning.
Eccl 7 V 8; "Better is the end of a matter than the
beginning thereof but the patient in spirit is better than the proud.
When God gives a man a message, there is always divine
direction to back it up . When God sent Moses to Egypt to liberate the
Israelites, God gave him directions and on every task there was a directive to
be followed.
Moses, the bible records was the meekest man who ever lived
but when pride got in the way, he was not allowed to set foot in the Promised
Land. “The patient in spirit is better than the proud"
The people of Israel needed water and God spoke to Moses
instructing him to smite the rock with his staff and Moses did as commanded,
the God the intended result; water for the people.
The next time the people needed water, God instructed Moses
to speak to the rock but at this particular point in time, Moses has lost his
cool, (The patient in spirit is better than the proud) and did not acknowledge
God as the source of water.
Rather he said shall "we" (probably referring to
himself and Aaron but not God who was in truth responsible for the water
supply) fetch you water out of this rock? And the he smote the rock twice
contrary to speaking to the rock as instructed.
The instruction / directive to Moses to "speak" to
the rock is in contrast to Moses' experience 40 years earlier, when Moses
followed God's instruction to hit the rock – and water gushed out (Exodus
17:6).
God wants you to follow his instruction and not your
experience because he knows what is most pressing at that point in time.
Let’s imagine that there was an argument between or amongst
a group of fellows in the camp about what their fathers told them happened 40
years earlier when Moses smote the rock and water gushed out.
A group were probably of the opinion that, well, Moses was
just lucky or that he knew that the particular type of rock he struck usually
held water and thus when you make / drill a hole in the rock, the water that it
held over a long period of time would be released and be fit for drinking
because the water had to pass through various layers of rock to get into this
storage rock thus purifying it. Whilst the other group may have had another
opinion, which was that, just as their fathers had told them, "God"
was responsible for the water. In short, it was a miracle.
God in his mercies wanting to save the souls of the first
group of men from unbelief and thus death, instructed Moses to speak to the
rock so that the evidence would be indisputable but Moses in his anger (don't
forget he was a stutterer / stammerer), momentary disbelieve and pride decided
to rely on his "EXPERIENCE" thus disobeying God (his and Aaron's act
were counted as sin and the wages of sin is DEATH).
One of the consequences for this action was the death of
Aaron (Numbers 20 v 23 - 29). The second was that Moses was judged as no longer
fit to lead (probably, not because he was not capable but because the "New
Generation" probably thought of him as old and were probably more
responsive to one from their generation) . A third was that Moses was not
allowed to go into the Promised Land (Numbers 20 v 12).
Direction is instruction. Direction is the sign post on the
path that leads to success or blessings. Your willingness to follow God and
your complete obedience to his word guarantees your distinction.
Psalm 32 v 8 " I will instruct and teach thee the way
to go, I will counsel you and care for you". God is not only willing to
direct you to success and distinction; He is also guaranteeing your total
well-being.
Isaiah 1 v 19 " If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall
eat the good of the land". Here again, God is saying that your willingness
to follow his directives or directions or instructions and your complete
obedience to his words guarantees that you do not lack or that you have
abundance on your table.
2Sam 2 v 1, 2Sam 5 v 19, "And David inquired of the
Lord........" King David, a man whose exploits in battle are still
remembered almost three thousand years after his demise never went into any
battle without inquiring from the Lord whether or not to. No wonder he never
lost a single battle.
King David secured his place by his willingness and his
obedience to the leading, directives, direction(s) and instruction of the Lord.
You also can secure your place! You can secure your destiny
by your willingness and complete obedience to the leading, directives,
direction(s) and instructions of the Lord.
