Have you been trying to do what God has laid on your heart, but things haven’t been working out?
Me too!
And honestly, I got fed up. Like, really fed up.
So I decided to inquire of God why I was having little to no breakthrough. This should have been the first step after the first attempt, but well…. Sometimes you need to put in the work and not quit, right?
Anyway…that is how I ended up in 2 Samuel 21, where Israel was facing famine for three years under David’s leadership.
In the third year, David figured something was off. The famine wasn’t something ordinary, so he inquired of God… And sure, God told David that the famine was a result of Saul’s sin, who, by the way, was already dead, so that really drew my attention to the story.
See, Saul had killed the Gibeonites, although they had entered into a covenant with Israel in the time of Joshua. Mind you, they did that under the pretense that they came from a far land when they were just neighbors who were seeking protection because they wanted to save their lives from Israel. Joshua did not take time to inquire from God whether they were telling the truth, so He made a covenant with the Gibeonites, only to realize they had tricked Israel.
But it was a done deal, so they lived with the Israelites, but as their servants. Please take time to read the story.
Now, years down the road comes Saul as king of Israel, and he kills the Gibeonites to please the Israelites. Then Saul dies, and when David is king, God punishes the nation for Saul’s sin.
You’re probably like, “Why???”
That was my exact reaction.
It is Joshua who made the first mistake; then Saul comes and makes another big mistake, but it is under David that the Israelites are punished.
I did some little research, and one thing that I learned was that God takes covenants seriously. I think that is why He says in the Word, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.”
Until we understand covenants God’s way, we may rush to think that God was unfair to punish Israel for Saul’s sin, yet he was already dead.
Your Decisions Affect More Than You
As a leader, Saul led the whole nation of Israel into sin by killing the Gibeonites.
Meaning our decisions as builders of God’s kingdom are very important.
Remember, you are a priest and king in the sphere of influence God has called you. The agreements you enter into affect you, people under your leadership, and the leaders that will come after you.
And I am not just talking about leadership in business environments or the corporate world. Leadership starts where you’re in your home and personal life.
So you need to be discerning, and that can only work if you are first a priest before you are king.
The New Covenant
We live in the new covenant, and so old things have passed away, and all things have become new, right?
Yes, true.
But we need to be responsible people, and thanks to Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross, we have been given a way out if we mess up, and that is to confess and repent.
Look, we can’t keep living life the way we want, live outside God’s covenant, and have secret sins tucked away that we don’t even bother to talk them out with Jesus in our prayer closets, and we only remember grace when things get tough.
Satan will allow us to live in our sin until an opportune time comes for him to use what we are hiding against us. I am not saying you should go announcing your sin to everyone, but there are people you can share with if that is the direction you have to go; most of all, we have God. We are free to go to His throne room to obtain mercy in our time of need.
The Bible is clear. Confess your sins and turn back to God.
Inquire of God
If you’re struggling in your home, marriage, business, and sphere of influence, then inquire of God like David and find the right strategy from God to combat that challenge.
Sometimes we can become so focused on the visible problem that we never stop to ask God what is happening beneath the surface.
David didn’t simply accept the famine as something ordinary. He realized something was off, and he inquired of God.
There is wisdom in going to God when things don’t make sense.
Be Careful of the Agreements You Make
The spiritual realm operates on legalities.
We take things casually because of culture and the systems of the world and then cry when all that you have built comes crashing down, forgetting that Satan is keeping tabs on you and is waiting for an opportune time to use those agreements against you.
And as such, we may find ourselves in sticky situations and wonder why we are suffering.
Let’s be careful of who we come into agreement with.
Just because a partnership looks good on paper doesn’t mean it is from God. Just because that person says the right words that you want to hear doesn’t mean God sent them. Some people are operating in the spirit of divination.
And on the flip side, just because a person doesn’t fit your specs or has annoyed you pretty much and you’re done for, doesn’t mean you cut them off without seeking God’s guidance.
Covenants or Agreements Matter
Covenants or agreements are very important in the spirit realm.
Be careful.
You are a leader, and that means Satan and his kingdom have a special interest in you because of the vision God has given you and the influence you carry. If he can get to you, he can get to so many people.
So you need to be careful.
Thankfully, the blood of Jesus is more powerful than the blood of bulls and goats.
If you’re in bondage because, in your season of ignorance or rebellion, you entered into wrong covenants, or you come from a background where people entered into wrong covenants that are causing havoc in your life, don’t panic.
Go to God, ask Him for guidance, and follow the tailor-made process. He will take you through.
Overcome those covenants with the blood of Jesus.
Go to the Roots
Sometimes what we are experiencing today may cause us to ask, “Why am I going through this?”
And while we may want an immediate solution to the problem in front of us, there are times when God wants us to go deeper.
David didn’t stop at the famine. He inquired of God.
There was a root behind what Israel was experiencing, and God revealed it. This is why we need to learn to inquire of God.
Yes, you are busy. But what you are building is on the verge of collapsing if you don’t do anything about it. Don’t just deal with the fruit. Go to the roots.
Don’t ask God to remove the symptoms. Ask Him to show you what needs to be addressed. And when He reveals something, don’t run from it. Bring it before Him. There is grace for repentance, correction, and restoration.
Most importantly, there is power in the blood of Jesus.
So if you are struggling with something you don’t understand, don’t panic. Don’t simply assume that what you are experiencing is ordinary.
Go back to God.
Inquire of Him. Ask Him to reveal the roots. And when He shows you what needs to be dealt with, be willing to obey.
Because sometimes the breakthrough we are looking for isn’t found in trying harder at the surface.
Sometimes we need to go to the roots.