God Does Not Want You To Settle

In today's devotion, Dianna Hobbs reminds us that God does not want us settling for what merely looks right, beneficial, or convincing. Only He can reveal what He has ordained. And no matter how long the delay, His best is worth waiting for.

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The Lord corrected me.

Just this week, I was trying to make a decision based on the facts in front of me. I had been fasting, praying, waiting on the Lord, and trusting Him for direction.

No worrying. Just praying and waiting.

As the process continued, I spoke with my team. I weighed my options, assessed what seemed to make the most sense, considered which path appeared to offer the greatest benefit to the mission, and made my choice.

After a meeting about the prospects and future of what I was doing, I settled on what I believed was the best course of action.

Then something shifted in me.

My peace was disturbed. The excitement and optimism that had fueled the decision turned into heaviness and hesitation.

Something was wrong.

That is when I heard the voice of the Lord clearly. He corrected me and said, "You do not make decisions based on what seems right to you. You ask Me for guidance, and you wait until I tell you. Do not make a move until you are sure of My will."

I immediately asked God to forgive me. Then I went back to my team and shared what the Lord had shown me. I repented to them as well, acknowledging that the outcome I hoped to achieve and the course I believed was best did not align with the will of God.

Friend, if the voice of God only confirms your thinking and never corrects it, go back and check whose voice you're really hearing.

The Lord told me, "Dianna, your analysis, your sincerity, and your thoughts about what is best do not establish My will. I do. Trust My timing, and do not move until I give you the answer."

***

Then He led me to Israel.

In Joshua 9, the Hebrews had already conquered Jericho and Ai. News of what God had done through them had spread throughout the land, and fear had gripped the surrounding nations. Israel was standing in the middle of the promise God had made to their forefathers, watching it unfold exactly as He said it would.

That is when the Gibeonites came knocking.

Gibeon was a Hivite city. The Hivites were among the nations God had specifically commanded Israel to drive out of the land. Israel was not to make a covenant with them or show them mercy (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).

The Gibeonites knew this, so they concocted a scheme.

God had said that when Israel approached a city from a distant land, they could offer it peace. If the city accepted, its people would be spared and required to serve Israel (Deuteronomy 20:10-15). But the nations living within the land, like the Gibeonites, fell under a different command. Israel was not to make peace treaties with them. They were to be destroyed (Deuteronomy 20:16-17).

The Gibeonites could not approach Israel truthfully and expect to be spared, so they built a disguise around the one thing that might work in their favor: distance.

They essentially catfished Israel.

They gathered worn sacks and old wineskins, torn and mended. They put on ragged clothes and patched sandals. They carried dry, moldy bread that looked as though it had been packed fresh for a journey and spoiled over many miles. Every detail supported the same lie: We have come from a very distant country.

Truth is, they were from around the way. Neighbors. Forbidden to be spared according to a divine decree.

When they arrived at the Israelite camp and told their fake tale of traveling from afar, they threw some extra flattery on it. We have heard about Israel's God, they said, what He did in Egypt, and how Israel defeated Sihon and Og on the other side of the Jordan (Joshua 9:6, 9-10).

They covered all the bases. They praised Israel's God, appealed to Israel's reputation, and presented physical evidence that seemed to confirm every word.

Still, Israel was skeptical.

Were they really from far away?

To satisfy their suspicions, Israel asked the Gibeonites, "Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?" (Joshua 9:7).

They asked the right question.

But they did not seek counsel from the mouth of the Lord (Joshua 9:14).

***

With no divine direction, Joshua made peace with the Gibeonites. Israel's leaders entered into a covenant with them and swore an oath to let them live (Joshua 9:15).

Then, just three days later, the truth came out.

Three days.

That is all the time it took for the deception to unravel.

Had Israel waited, the truth might have surfaced before the covenant was made. Because they moved without God's counsel, clarity came only after they had already committed themselves. Israel could not break the oath, because they had sworn to the Gibeonites by the Lord God of Israel (Joshua 9:18-19).

As I read this, which is one of my favorite Bible stories, God spoke to me some more.

He said, when we do not seek His will and wait for His answer, we can commit ourselves to people, opportunities, and arrangements He never intended for us. We must be careful never to come into agreement with anything God has not sanctioned.

What makes Israel's failure even more sobering and tragic is that God had already provided a way for them to inquire of Him through the Urim and Thummim.

Scripture does not tell us exactly what these objects looked like or precisely how they were used. What it does make clear is that they were a God-appointed means of seeking His judgment and direction.

Before Joshua ever led Israel into the Promised Land, God told Moses that Joshua was to stand before Eleazar the priest, who would inquire of the Lord for him "after the judgment of Urim" (Numbers 27:21).

Forfeiting God's process can stall our progress and leave us dealing with consequences we never had to create.

But you do not have to make Israel's mistake.

Neither do I.

***

Under the old covenant, Israel approached God through the priestly order He had established. The high priest represented the people before God and carried their inquiry into His presence.

Under the new covenant that governs our salvation, we have a greater High Priest. His name is Jesus Christ. And He has already opened the way for us to draw near to the Father.

Hebrews tells us to "come boldly unto the throne of grace" so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Today, God is speaking both to me and through me, saying, I do not want you settling for less than My best. Come to Me. Ask Me. Wait on Me. Let Me lead you. I will give you the answer.

Do not settle and make a move simply because the answer seems logical and waiting feels uncomfortable.

Let the Lord guide you.

Because God does not only know what belongs in your future. He knows what does not. He knows which doors are blessings and which ones are distractions. He knows which relationships are covenant connections and which ones are counterfeit attachments.

He knows who is assigned to walk with you and who is trying to hitch themselves to something God is doing in your life without ever being ordained to go with you.

And in this season, you cannot afford to drag unauthorized people into authorized places.

You cannot afford to enter agreements God never approved, maintain connections He is trying to sever, or walk through doors He never opened.

So we rebuke every relationship that is not ordained by God. We break agreement with every connection that is not divinely sanctioned. We reject every soul tie posing as a soulmate.

We refuse every opportunity that looks good but is not God. We reject every conniving scheme, every deceptive presentation, every flattering voice, and every arrangement designed to gain access to what the Lord has placed in our hands.

If God did not open the door, we do not want it. If God did not establish the relationship, we do not need it. If God did not speak it, we will not force it.

If God says wait, we will wait.

Because what God has for you, my dear friend, does not require you to outrun His wisdom to obtain it.

God wants to do great things in your life. But He also loves you enough to guard the gates. So let Him choose. Let Him separate. Let Him expose. Let Him close. Let Him open. Let Him establish. And where needed, let Him abolish.

And when that divine answer you’ve been waiting on comes, you will not have to wonder whether you manufactured it, manipulated it, or talked yourself into it.

You will know God did it.

Whatever God has for you will never require you to compromise His will to attain it.

Hear God today. Ask Him where He wants to lead you. Wait on Him. Trust Him.

The Israelites had the Urim and Thummim.

We have the Holy Spirit.

***

John 16:13, which is the sweetener I'm stirring into your cup of inspiration today, says, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

As you drink down the contents of your cup, surrender your plans, your relationships, your opportunities, your expectations, and your timing to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

He is not withholding His best from you. He is making sure that when you step into what He has ordained, you do not carry into it something He never authorized.

Psalm 27:14 says it best: "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

Now let’s pray.

God, thank You for reminding me that what seems right to me may not be Your will.

Please forgive me for every time I have gotten ahead of You and leaned on my own understanding. Give me discernment to recognize what comes from You and courage to reject what does not.

Close every door You have not ordained. Sever every connection that would pull me outside Your will. Expose every deception I cannot see, and keep me from agreements You have not sanctioned.

I acknowledge You in all my ways, and I trust You to direct my path. I will wait for Your answer, follow Your leading, and receive Your best in Your time.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!

If you need prayer, don't hesitate to request it. I would be honored to stand in faith with You. I know that prayer works. CLICK HERE to learn how to submit your prayer request.

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