Is It Really From the Lord?

 

Is It Really From the Lord?

Sometimes we assume that the situation before us is from the Lord. But is it really?

In our previous reflection, “The Stories Behind the Psalms – Dead End?”, we looked at the moment when the Ziphites revealed David’s location to Saul. They informed Saul that David was hiding in their region.

Saul’s response was striking:

“Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me.”
 — 1 Samuel 23:21

Saul invokes the Lord’s name and pronounces a blessing over them. But was their betrayal truly pleasing to God? The narrative does not indicate divine approval. Saul may have used God’s name, but that does not mean God endorsed the action.

The same pattern appears again in chapter 24.

When David had the opportunity to kill Saul in the cave, his men urged him forward:

“This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand…’”
 — 1 Samuel 24:4

They even framed their argument as a fulfillment of something the Lord had spoken. Yet no earlier passage records those exact words. They interpreted the circumstance as divine permission.

But David did not.

After cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe, we read:

“David’s heart troubled him…”
— 1 Samuel 24:5

Even that small act disturbed his conscience. Why? Because his reasoning was not based on opportunity, emotion, or popular interpretation. It was based on covenant principle:

“The Lord forbid that I should… stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”

David evaluated the situation not by advantage but by the revealed character of God.

So what should we do when others say, “It is written,” and use Scripture to justify something that does not seem aligned with God’s heart? Should we blindly follow because a verse was quoted?

David’s life gives us the answer.

Discernment is formed long before the crisis.

“I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.”
 — Psalm 119:15

“Precepts” are not merely words to memorize. They are instructions meant to shape conduct. Meditation is not casual reading; it is deep internalization. It forms moral reflexes.

David’s troubled heart was not accidental. It was the result of a life grounded in God’s instruction.

It is easy to isolate a verse and use it to support what we already desire. But Scripture must be understood in context. We must ask:

  • What is the broader teaching?

  • What character does this action reflect?

  • Does it align with God’s revealed nature?

Being rooted in God’s Word means more than quoting it. It means being shaped by it.

So when we face situations that appear favorable and someone says, “This is from the Lord,” we must pause.

So, Is it really from the Lord?

Meditate — and we will know.

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