Inquire Again

One thing I want to learn this year is how to slow down. I want to learn to keep doing the things that make me happy. I want to learn to keep living without feeling like I have to start from scratch every 365 days. Our world has become so laser-focused on hustling to be the best version of yourself that you can be that we’ve forgotten that not everything is learned in a hurry. 

Just like learning a new language, we have to take our lives one phrase, one word, and one vowel at a time. Before starting that small business, we need to find something that lights us up from the inside and keeps that fire burning on the days when it feels more like work than fun. Before we can master that new skill, we have to fail at it hundreds of times. Before we can have the life we’ve always dreamed of, we have to take stock of our lives as they are right now and figure out what we want to keep and what we want to change. All of those things are long slow processes. They require us to steep ourselves in our lives, to contemplate and meditate on what the Lord has given us. Most importantly, though, they require us to inquire of the Lord. 

Before charging headlong into something, we must sit quietly with the Lord and see what he has to say about it. We must remember that while we may have an idea of where we want our lives to go, we don’t have control over them. God wants what’s best for us, but we’re not going to know what that is without meeting with him. 

“Therefore David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 1 Samuel 23:2

“Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 1 Samuel 23:4

“And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” 1 Samuel 30:8

“After this David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.” 2 Samuel 2:1

“And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” 2 Samuel 5:19

“And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 2 Samuel 5:23

What stood out to me about these particular passages is that David continually inquired of the Lord. He didn’t do it once and then assumed that to be God’s default answer for every other life circumstance. David kept returning to the Lord; I don’t think he ever stopped talking with God. Even though the Bible only gives us a few short sentences about David inquiring of the Lord, I believe that based on David’s character and what we know about him, he was constantly communing with God and meditating on His word. That’s the kind of person that I want to be.

I want to be someone who doesn’t just go to the Lord in times of trouble or when I have a difficult decision to make. I want to go to him every hour of every day. I want to spend my day with him, to bring him into my work, home, and private life. I want to be so connected with God that his presence and love soak in and saturate every area of my life. Am I that kind of person right now? Sadly no. Is that kind of soul-deep change going to happen overnight? Probably not. It will take work, commitment, and the realization that I will fail at it more times than I succeed. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to try. 

This is the year I learn to lean into the things I already know. Where I reignite the fire within my soul for the things I’m passionate about. This is the year that I not only inquire of God about life changes but also learn who God is. This is a year of slowing down, digging in, and rediscovering this beautiful life I’ve been given. Will you join me?