Today, we continue our series entitled “Laser Focus,” emphasizing living with a Laser Focus on the Fixed Purpose God established for us before the world began.
Scriptures we have been looking at all year:
(Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
Focus for today:
Setting the Stage. (From 1 Samuel 30:7-9)
When we left off with the story of David yesterday, he was at a new all-time low. His family was gone, and so were the families of his men. His village was burned to the ground, and so was everything he and his men owned. His allies denied him the opportunity to fight alongside them, and his men (men who had been there for him through thick and thin) were speaking of stoning him to death. All David had left was God. The Bible says, “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” Another translation says, “David found strength in the LORD his God.”
Then David did something interesting. It was customary for leaders in the Old Testament to consult with a prophet or priest when they needed to hear from God. The prophet or priest would be the intermediary between the leader and God. They would seek God for the leader and come back and tell the leader what God said. David had a priest with him, Abiathar. David did summon his priest, but not for what you might think. David asked Abiathar to come to him, and when he did, David asked the priest to bring him the ephod. The ephod was a priestly robe customarily worn when performing priestly duties. David did not tell Abiathar to don the ephod to intercede with God for him. No, David wanted to put on the ephod to hear from God directly. David was at a low point and needed to hear from God for himself.
David put on the ephod and inquired of the Lord (which is what he normally did when he was in a bind; by the way, we can learn from this). While his town was burned to the ground, while his family and the family members of his men were gone, and while his men were speaking of stoning him, David made time to hear from God. David knew that one Word from God could turn any seemingly hopeless situation around. David asked the LORD two specific questions, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
David wanted to know what we all want to know from time to time: Should I do it? And: Will I be successful? The LORD responded, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” The King James Version reads that God answered: “Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.”
With that — with a Word from God — David got the courage to round up his men, to encourage them despite their feelings at the time, and David and his 600 men set out to pursue what had been taken from them.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. The Power of Your Direct Divine Connection to God.
David appreciated priests and prophets, but when his back was against the wall, he needed to hear from God for himself. The same should be true for you. You should appreciate your Pastor(s) and the five-fold ministry gifts in the Body of Christ, but when the pressure is on, you must be able to hear from God for yourself.
How this applies to you:
— When a crisis strikes, having others pray for you is good, but hearing from God yourself is better.
— David could have relied on Abiathar to seek God for him, but he chose to approach God directly. This demonstrates spiritual maturity and understanding that our relationship with God must be personal, not delegated.
— You must do all you can to develop your own prayer life and ability to hear God’s voice clearly.
— Don’t solely rely on others for spiritual guidance and direction.
— Take responsibility for your own spiritual growth and relationship with God.
— Learn to distinguish between God’s voice from other voices in your life.
— Practice spending quiet time alone with God daily.
— I cannot overstate how critical it is for you to be able to hear the voice of God, the divine promptings of the Holy Spirit.
2. Be Clear and Specific When You Pray.
David asked God precise questions and received precise answers. He didn’t just pray generally but sought specific strategic direction. This approach demonstrates the importance of focused, purposeful prayer that expects clear answers.
How this applies to you:
— Frame your prayers with specific, direct questions to God.
— Don’t pray general prayers when you need specific answers.
— Know that God is more than capable of leading you in the way you should go in a way that is not ambiguous.
— If you are clear with God, expect Him to be clear with you.
— Expect clear, actionable answers to your prayers.
— Take time to formulate your questions before approaching God.
— Write down the answers you receive for future reference.
— Move forward with confidence when you receive clear direction.
— While there are times when God will not be specific with you (because it takes a certain level of mystery to walk with God for the long run), there will also be times, as was the case in today’s passage with David, where God will provide clear, concise, and straightforward direction. But you must ask for it and be OPEN to it when the Holy Spirit speaks.
3. Divine Words Produce Divine Results.
Everything changed for David once he heard from God. His wives were still gone, his town was still burned to the ground, and his men were still upset with him, but once he heard a Word from God, he was changed from the inside out. All you need is a Word. Even before the external circumstances change, if you get a Word from God, you will be changed on the inside!
How this applies to you:
— A single word from God can completely transform your perspective and situation.
— David went from the depths of despair to a position of confident leadership after receiving one clear word from the Lord.
— God’s words carry the creative power to reshape any circumstance.
— Place greater value on receiving God’s word than human counsel.
— Allow God’s word to transform your mindset before your circumstances change.
— Stand firmly on God’s promises regardless of what you see.
— Once God has spoken, you cannot be moved by what you see anymore. You must stand on what God said! That’s the life of faith. That’s how your faith lays hold of God’s grace.
— Once God spoke to David and told him to pursue, overtake, and recover all, David knew the GRACE of God was present to do all God revealed. But David still required the faith to believe it, convince his men to do it, and actually get their families and stuff back. Receiving the Word is great, but faith requires you to ACT on what God said!
4. God Requires You To Lead Through Crisis.
Even in his personal pain, David maintained his leadership role. He didn’t just receive direction for himself but used God’s word to rally his men from despair to action. True leadership often means leading others through your own valleys.
How this applies to you:
— If you want to wait until everything is perfect in your personal life before you focus on leading others, you will never lead.
— Allow your personal trials to develop your leadership capabilities.
— Maintain your leadership responsibilities even during personal crises.
— Lead by example in seeking God during difficult times.
— Remember that others are watching how you handle adversity.
— God gives you the grace to lead while dealing with your own personal challenges. By God’s grace, you will be leading while bleeding. While this is true of God’s Kingdom, it is also true that we, as leaders, need to make the time to get healthy. Because if not, you, as a leader, can get burned out. This is why Pastors commit suicide, or they quit churches.
— While there were times when David led while bleeding, there were also times (most of the time) when he led while healthy. As leaders, self-care is critical to long-term success with God.
5. You Must Have the Faith to go From Confession to Possession.
David didn’t just receive God’s promise; he acted on it immediately. David transformed God’s Word from a promise into a possession through decisive action. Faith without works is dead, and David demonstrated a living faith that lays hold of God’s grace.
How this applies to you:
— I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people get excited in church when they HEAR a WORD from God, only to then allow that WORD to die in their hearts because they failed to ACT on it.
— When God gives you a Word, He is revealing to you what His GRACE is providing. But the only way it will come to pass in your life is with your FAITH. God provides by GRACE; we receive by FAITH.
— If you don’t provide the FAITH, you will waste God’s GRACE and miss out on God’s best.
— When God gives you the GREEN LIGHT, move quickly!
— Delayed obedience is disobedience.
— Don’t wait for all circumstances to align before taking action.
— Let your faith be visible through your works.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I declare that I am equipped to hear Your voice clearly and directly.
Your Word transforms my situation before my circumstances change.
I receive specific answers to my specific prayers by Your grace.
When You speak, I move without hesitation or doubt.
Your promises become my possessions through faith-filled action.
I recover all that the enemy has stolen from me.
No weapon formed against me shall prosper.
I turn setbacks into setups for supernatural comebacks.
Victory is mine because You fight my battles!
GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it, and prosper!
