God’s way is better

In the “Our Daily Bread Devotional” for Feb. 24, 2018, Tim Gustafson shared something his father once told him: “A weed is any plant that grows where you don’t want it.” His dad then told him to dig up the single stalk of corn growing among a row of peas, informing his son that the solitary cornstalk would not produce enough to justify leaving it there, as it would choke the pea plants and rob them of the nutrients they needed to grow.

Gustafson wrote, “Human beings aren’t plants – we have minds of our own and God-given free will. But sometimes we try to bloom where God doesn’t intend us to be.” We all have occasions in our lives when things turn out differently than we planned.

This is nothing new; situations that frustrate people have been happening for thousands of years. On those occasions, our dreams are at risk, and we must come to terms with a new reality. In ancient Israel, King Saul, the nation’s first king, felt threatened by a young shepherd named David, who killed Israel’s most famous enemy, Goliath. As the Israelite army returned home, the king heard the crowds singing that he had killed thousands, while David had slain tens of thousands. From that day forward, the king was consumed by jealousy and fear. (1 Samuel 18:6-9) King Saul tried repeatedly to kill David, sometimes chasing him for months at a time.

While the king refused to acknowledge that God was using David in extraordinary ways, many took notice of the young hero’s remarkable gifts; one of them was the heir apparent to the throne, King Saul’s son, Jonathan.

In an amazingly ironic twist, Jonathan became David’s best friend. While he had every reason to expect that he would inherit the throne, when Jonathan saw God dramatically use David, he realized his friend would be Israel’s next king. Instead of being jealous, like his father, Jonathan loved his friend so much that he was willing to give up his right to the throne if that was God’s plan.

Here is how scripture records the occasion when Jonathan informed David of what he believed God was going to do. “Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ Jonathan reassured him. ‘My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.” (1 Samuel 23:16-17, NLT)

Instead of clinging to his right to be king, Jonathan accepted that God would give his friend the throne. Gustafson concluded, “God’s plan is always better than our own. We can fight against it and resemble a misplaced weed, or we can accept His direction and become flourishing, fruitful plants in His garden. He leaves the choice with us.” God’s way is better than ours, even if we do not understand it.