Do Not Try To Outsmart God

We all like to live life our way. Being sinners, humans tend to struggle with submitting to authority, such as to our parents, teachers, bosses, government, and even church leaders. We prefer to make our own decisions and sometimes, we are very persistent in sticking to our preferences and plans, even if we got indications from God that what we intend to do doesn’t quite fit His will. Perhaps we wanted to change a job, or go for a holiday, or purchase something, while these may not be outright wrong things, but at that moment, maybe God does not want us to do that. Yet sometimes, our desire is so strong that despite getting indications of disapproval from God, we still choose to go ahead with our own plans. In the end, we will be led to learn that it doesn’t pay to go against God’s will and God’s will is not to be treated lightly.

Few days ago, I read this account from the Bible that illustrates this point. God had already told the king of Israel through prophet Micaiah that the king should not go to battle or he would die, yet the king ignored the advice and went ahead.

(2 Ch 18) 28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him. 33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.

If it is not the will of God, we will not succeed no matter what we do.

Here we see a person very determined to disobey God. Ahab was so persistent to carry out his own will to conquer Ramoth Gilead that he tried to work-around God’s prophecy in an attempt to outsmart God. However, tried as he might, his disguise didn’t save him. He still could not avoid his death as God had foretold. Ahab might think he was smart to disguise himself but let king Jehoshaphat wear his royal robes so that Jehoshaphat could be the enemy’s target instead of himself. However, man can never outwit God. As (Prov 19:21) says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” God also said, “Woe to the obstinate children, to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.” (Isa 30:1). Thus, it is certainly not wise to play games with God. Instead of being stubborn and manipulate things to get our way, it is better to: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Prov 16:3)

If it is God’s will, it can’t be thwarted.

We read that “someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor”. A “random” shot could hit Ahab at just the right spot, killing him. This must be the act of God. Perhaps the soldier did not even know that his random arrow would kill king Ahab and fulfil God’s plan. The soldier was merely doing his job to fight his enemy in a battle. Yet, what appears random to man in fact happens under the permissive will of God.

However, knowing that God’s will will be fulfilled no matter what does not mean that we can be fatalistic and think that we don’t need to do anything then. But it is for us to remember that nothing can obstruct God’s will, so that we can do the will of God confidently, knowing that our trust in Him will not be in vain. No situation or person can hinder what God wants to do. Just as no one can stop God from punishing Ahab who defied God, so no one can stop God to bless those who belong to Him.

Since God is the determining factor of whether something works or fails, it calls for our humble submission and simple trust.

1) Humble submission

By humble submission, it means to consult God in all our plans, especially for important matters and major decisions. Seek God’s guidance from His written word and act according to what He says, not turning to the left or right (Jos 1:7-8), and not try to play games with God like Ahab did. For things not clearly directed by God’s word, seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit through prayers. During prayers, we can also honestly share any difficulty we face in submitting to Him. We can tell God it is hard to obey Him, but keep praying until our heart changes from reluctant to willing to submit.

2) Simple faith

Trust God with the outcome. We may not always get what we plan for, but what God planned will be fulfilled, for the good of those who love Him. We may not know what is best for us when we do our planning, but God knows. Thus, we can trust God with a simple and pure faith that His plans are better than ours, even if it doesn’t seem so right now.

Dear friends, I’m not sure if you wonder why Ahab was so foolish to go to his own death when God already pre-warned him. That is the deadly folly of unbelief. I pray that we take heed from Ahab’s example and guard ourselves from foolishly insisting on our own will. If it is useless to try outwitting God, then the best way is to ask God for help to submit to Him no matter how hard it is.