The Danger of Making Assumptions

     We spoke before concerning the danger of making assumptions especially in the spiritual realm and concerning the will of God. David, at least in the beginning of his Kingship, meticulously observed the need for not making assumptions. When a decision meet at making, especially an important decision concerning the Kingdom, he sought the face of the Lord. It was important to him that no matter how obvious the decision seemed, that he be sure that his mind was parallel with the mind of God.
     What is interesting here is that Nathan, a Prophet of God as opposed to an "normal person", does not do the same thing. He rushes onward, assuming that he has the mind of God. I don't believe that there is purposeful arrogance and Nathan here, but there surely is what amounts to arrogance! Whenever we do not, as David demonstrates for us time and again, take care to see to it that our minds are indeed parallel to the mind of God in whatever choices and decisions we make, we demonstrate the arrogance of human pride.
     The fall into pride is such an easy fault to make! That is especially true when one has been walking with the Lord and has a history of "spirituality" behind one. It becomes easy to make assumptions, and to begin to fail to look closely at the choices and decisions that you make. It becomes oh so very easy to stop measuring everything that you do and think by this standard and the plumbline of the Word of God. Rather, and I suspect, in the vast majority of cases, rather innocently, we assume that because of our knowledge of the Word of God and our "vast" experience with God that what we perceive to be the correct course, is the right course. It must be! Mustn't it?
     The problem is that this takes way too much authority and responsibility upon us. And of course, when we put it this way it's obvious. We are not the Master in this relationship and we are not the one who directs the activity. It is of rather our Lord and Master who has the reigns in His hands. It is for us to recognize that, and to do that recognizing on a continual basis, constantly acknowledging that He is Lord and we are not. No matter how long we are his servants, acknowledging that it is He who directs our paths. He never leaves us on our own to direct our own way.
     In a very real way, that is most comforting, isn't it! I don't want to be left on my own. It is only the pride and arrogance of the flesh that seeks to govern itself. Time and again in the scripture we see these two things set in opposition to one another. The arrogance and pride of the unredeemed person brought to destruction and then the submission and the willingness to serve of the redeemed person brought to fruit and blessing.
     This was the story of ancient Israel was it not? When they obeyed and submitted to their God, God brought them to fruit and to blessing. When they rebelled and insisted on their own way, God sent affliction and judgment. When they, in turn, repented, God sent them a Judge or some other deliver and returnned to them to blessing. That cycle continued throughout Israel's history until finally the Northern Kingdom disappeared into final judgment and the Southern Kingdom was sent to Babylon. Though they were eventually returned from Babylon, their desire to govern themselves was no better. Ultimately, all of the prophecies and pictures of this sin and Deliverer Metaphor will be realized in the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that he has effected on Calvary's cross.
     Assumptions are dangerous things. The most dangerous assumption we can make, of course, is the assumption that we can somehow please God on our own. Cowboy stadium will be filled with people this coming weekend, most of which either will not care or who will make the assumption that they are able to please God in some fashion on their own. There is no more dangerous assumption than that one. Nathan simply made the assumption that God wanted a house built for him in Jerusalem. That was not an assumption that he should've made, and as a Prophet of God he should've known better.  It's not even clear from the Scripture that God actually wanted the Temple Built at all..but what is clear that he certainly didn't want David to build it, and yet Nathan tells him that God was with him.  God immediately, that night, straightened him out and sent him back to David to tell him that he would not be building God a house at all, but that his son would be doing that task. 
     Assumptions. We must be very careful about making assumptions. They can get us into bad, bad trouble.