That Which Seemeth Him Good II Sam10:12 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Joab led the armies of Israel to fight against the Ammonites and the Syrians [2 Sam 10:6].  When Joab saw how the Ammonites and the Syrians put the battle in array he divided his forces and put some of them under his command to fight against the Syrians and the rest under Abishai’s command to fight against the Ammonites [2 Sam 10:8-11].  And then, before they fought, Joab said to Abishai, “Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God; and the Lord do that which seemeth him good,” [2 Sam 10:12].

Notice that Joab charged Abishai to be courageous and manly in the fight.  He emphasized that this fight was for God’s people and His cities.  Yet in spite of their courage and their cause, Joab was clear that he was leaving the results of the battle to God when he said, The Lord do that which seemeth him good.

So often when we are involved in a difficult time or situation in our lives our prayers are one-sided.  We pray with sincere determination that God should make the thing turn out the way we want it to turn out.  We would pray, The Lord do that which seemeth us good rather than pray, The Lord do that which seemeth him good.  Today we need to be reproved by the scriptures and be instructed in God’s way to pray in tough circumstances.

We must pray, The Lord do that which seemeth him good:

In our battles with our adversary – 2 Sam 10:12 – Joab wasn’t sure how God wanted this battle to turn out – he was going to fight with all of his might but he was leaving the results with God – and 2 Sam 10:13-19 shows you what God did – Jesus entered his tough battle in the garden of Gethsemane and he left the results with God – he prayed, “not my will, but thine be done” – Paul prayed for his thorn in the flesh, the minister of Satan that buffeted him, and left the results with God – God didn’t heal him; he just loaded him up with grace – Job was in a terrible battle with the devil and when God showed up he didn’t rescue him; he tested him further by asking him questions he could not answer – eventually, Job was healed, his family was restored and his possessions were doubled – the outcome of our battles with the devil is in God’s hands – the Lord do that which seemeth him good.

In our battles with our enemies – 2 Sam 15:24-26 – David was the king in Israel and yet Absalom set up a conspiracy against him – to spare the city David fled from Jerusalem – when Zadok brought the ark to him David told Zadok to return it to the city and said, “if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again” – but he didn’t presume that the Lord should grant him his throne again – he said, “Let him do to me as seemeth good unto him” – David’s dilemma is that he loved his son and yet knew that his son was committing treason – David didn’t know where God was on this deal – likewise, if God wants to use someone who is your enemy to take you out, that’s his business – if you fight to protect your reputation or your position you might find yourself fighting against God – the Lord do that which seemeth him good.

In our battles for our children – Gen 43:14 – Jacob and his family were in the midst of a terrible famine and Simeon was in prison in Egypt – in order to buy more corn from Egypt and have Simeon released, Benjamin had to travel with his brothers to Egypt – Jacob didn’t want to let him go – he had already lost Joseph, and Benjamin was Rachel’s only other child – Jacob found himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place – he said, “If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved” – Jacob had to give Benjamin up in order to get him back – we often find ourselves in this same place with prodigal children and sick children – with prodigals we must pray the Lord do that which seemeth him good – and we need to quit running interference for them against everything God is trying to do – we must pray likewise with sick children – the Lord takes some and he leaves some – and truly the Lord knows which is best every time – we can’t only pray for the outcome we want; we must realize that the Lord’s will is better than ours.

In our battles for our lives – Est 4:16 – when Mordecai persuaded Esther to present herself before king Ahasuerus at the risk of her life in order to protect the Jews, she agreed and said, “If I perish, I perish” – she faced a life and death situation – all the Jews needed her to go before the king – rarely would any of us find ourselves in such an important calling – nevertheless, we will face a life and death decision at some point – in most cases we will cry out for life – that’s natural – however, if our lives are like Paul’s, and if to live is Christ and to die is gain, then death would be the right answer so we can go to be with the Lord – only the Lord knows which is best – so, our prayer should be “the Lord do that which seemeth him good.”

Conclusion: if in any of these areas of your life, you have prayed and given God only your way to answer your prayer that you will accept, repent and humble yourself so that the Lord may do that which seemeth him good.