Wait for Fresh Wisdom

Daily Devotional

2 Samuel 5:23 And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

There is no guarantee that what brought you victory yesterday, will bring you success today. You need fresh wisdom every day.

In 2 Samuel 5, when the Philistines heard that David was anointed King they spread themselves in the Valley of Rephaim to wage war against Israel. In response David enquired of the Lord if he should go and attack the Philistines, and if He will deliver them into his hands. The Lord responded and said “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.” David and his men went out against the Philistines and totally defeated them. Shortly after the Philistines regrouped and came again to fight against Israel, so David enquired of the Lord again what he should do. The wisdom he received was different from what he got the first time. The instruction this time around was that he should not attack from the front, but instead they should attack from behind. Further to that, David was told that he should only start attacking when he heard the sound in the tops of the mulberry trees. David did as he was instructed and again he had victory.

What do you think would have happened if David and his men had approached the battle the same way that they did the first time around. They would have been soundly beaten. We are often guilty of doing things how we did it the last time if it worked out well. That was not the approach that David took, he had the understanding that every battle requires fresh wisdom. Yesterday’s wisdom was for yesterday’s battle; for today you need something fresh. Part of the reason the Isrealites were given fresh manna every day in the wilderness, was to get them into the thinking that every day they needed fresh word, wisdom and direction to maneuver the nuisances of each day.

Life Application: Go into His presence to seek for fresh wisdom daily.

Prayer: Lord, order my steps. I await your daily direction for my life. In Jesus name, amen.