The Book of 2nd Samuel contains various kinds of literature written by anonymous writers.
Under the inspiration of God’s spirit, these authors came together and pieced together this period of Israel’s history into one coherent work.
Now, one characteristic that stands out between Scripture and other ancient writings is that ancient gentile literature glorifies their heroes.
The Bible does NOT.
The battles in Scripture are described in a very matter-of-fact fashion.
There aren’t any dramatic descriptions fleshing out all the blood and gore like you’d see in a Hollywood movie.
Nor are battle heroes deified and portrayed as great men of war.
Why is this?
The answer is simple.
The priority is God, not men.
The focus is on divine principles and patterns rather than swords spilling guts onto the ground.
Now, here’s the thing.
Although the editors of Scripture may have been guided by the Spirit…
Few recognized that God was working behind the scenes, guiding and protecting Israel.
That understanding can only come with the benefit of hindsight.
This leads to our takeaway for today…
If there’s any advantage we have over the authors of Scripture, it is most definitely hindsight.
We can look back and see for ourselves how God has worked in history.
This is reassuring because when we see the miracles the Lord performed in the past…
We can have confidence that He will do the same in the future.
In fact, to that point, I’ve got an interesting exercise for you that I think you’ll find greatly inspiring.
Get out a pen and paper and, with the benefit of hindsight, write down all the times the Lord worked in your life.
I think you’ll be amazed at how many times God supernaturally intervened, even if you couldn’t recognize it then (sometimes just in the nick of time) to protect and guide you.
If you do this exercise, please share in the comments!
It will serve to inspire others as well.
Here are some of mine:
MIRACLE 1:
In my early years in Japan, I needed money to renew my apartment contract, and I didn’t have any cash. However, a deposit owed me came in just in the nick of time to cover how much I needed.
MIRACLE 2:
I had a mini-stroke last December 2024, and the results were so negligible that today, it’s almost as if nothing happened. I was hospitalized for a week, but all I experienced was a slight loss of temperature sensation in my left hand that seems to be coming back due to “neuroplasticity.” Also, thank God I had a little bonus money come in from my recruiting job that enabled me to pay the hospital bill in full (with the help of health insurance, of course!). My doctor did tell me I’ve gotta take blood thinners for the rest of my life, though.
MIRACLE 3:
The fact I’ve been able to do this blogging through God’s Word day in and day out for over a decade is, for me, an awesome miracle and a testament to God’s Spirit giving me an undying passion for His Word and the desire to share His Word with the world. Heck, I was even blogging while I was in the hospital, with several intravenous tubes hooked up to my body.
MIRACLE 4:
The fact that the Lord has kept me single all of my life even though there was a time in my life when I thought it was a curse, and there was a time when I desperately wanted to be married. But honestly, the motivation was more for social approval so I wouldn’t be seen as a loser, (yes, I was that damn insecure and immature!), than any real sincere desire to wanna be tied down with a wife and kids. After witnessing several marriages among close friends fall completely apart (including my own parents), not to mention the 50% divorce rate in the United States, through God’s grace, I think I may have dodged a bullet.
MIRACLE 5:
Due to a billing issue mix-up, one day my gas was suddenly shut off, but just in the nick of time, a Google Adsense payout (for this blog, actually) came in the very next day, enabling me not only to pay the bill but to have a nice dinner that night as well.
MIRACLE 6:
All of the connections from around the world through this blog, including a brother who flew in from Kuwait (he’s an American working for the US military and is stationed in Kuwait). In fact, out of all the hospital visits I got, he was the only person who visited twice!
MIRACLE 7:
The contract job I got at TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company). The job was so relaxing with so much ridiculous down time, I like to joke that TEPCO funded my theological education. I had so much free time on that job that I was able to spend four hours a day (sometimes a full 7 hours a day!) studying the Torah five days a week at the office for about a solid three years. Trust me, this blog wouldn’t exist without that strong Biblical foundation.
I’ll stop here for now, but here are a couple of observations that occurred while doing this exercise.
First, I realized that certain events, while seeming like negative things, in hindsight, turned out to be huge blessings (like the marriage issue).
Indeed, the Lord is a master at taking the lemons in your life and turning them into lemonade!
Second, my gratitude for everything God has done in my life instantly increased.
This strengthens my faith and motivates me to wanna obey Him more.
Finally, it gives me hope for my future.
If God has carried me and taken care of me so far…
Despite all of the ups and downs and crazy roller coaster ride life has been (there were times when I had some damn near panic attacks!)…
Who’s to say He won’t continue to do so in the future?!
Ya feel me?
So, how about you?
Why don’t you take a few minutes and do this exercise?
I betcha you’ll benefit greatly from it…
And you’ll inspire others as well!
Share in the comments!
See ya all next time.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Therefore I tell you,
do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink;
or about your body,
what you will wear.
Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?
Can any one of you by worrying
add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes?
See how the flowers of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon
in all his splendor
was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God
clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
will he not much more clothe you
—you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’
or ‘What shall we wear?’
For the gentiles run
after all these things,
and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness,
and all these things
will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-Matthew 6:25-34
Thank you for your frankness. I too am on my own. Albeit 9 grandchildren but no real friends It has enabled me to go deep into the Word, to pray for local areas, to see Spirit filled vicars move in. It has now extended world wide as i proclaim the fruit of the Spirit into each country. I love to see Him work. He speaks I repeat, I watch and wait. He does and I rejoice!!
Amen, Veronica!
I can see that the Lord is using you greatly.
Thanks for sharing, and continue to be greatly blessed!
Dear all, I wish you a very happy new year. Please accept my sincere apology for the late appearance in 2025.
Hi Richoka, we thank God for your life.
Sorry I did not know of your sickness and hospitalization in the recent past. I wish you all the best in everything especially in good health.
You are very relevant and effective in the lives of many and as a result of this work alone, may God continue to protect and keep you for this generation and several generations to come
I agree with you that sometimes God’s spirit leads us into things we know nothing about, but in the past we thought we were in charge. Some other times too we didn’t like the experience only to understand in the future that God had performed a miracle on that occasion for our sakes.
1. Hindsight, I ask myself everyday how I got connected to you and this platform must be a miracle.
I must concede the losses I make due to my inability to fully participate and contribute regularly. Consider the work you do here every day. I appreciate your depth, organization, consistency, dexterity, active and availably ready to also subject yourself to corrections when necessary. I have had my own doubts about you cleared. I have also witnessed a sample of heated debates folks had with but you never took it personal. Always, you ensure that you gather historical facts, fixing biblical and scriptural intelligence that one can hardly grab in a one shop.
If I could recall from the onset, I needed a bible study group at a point alright, but afterwards, I also got suspicious somehow that you were inn for something funny to dissuade people from Christianity.
Contrary to that notion and having followed you for years, I am convinced that without you it might be nearly impossible for me to get certain information (especially at no cost) that is necessary for my ministry and or salvation journey.
2. I lost my wealth, investments and job in banking sector cleaning exercise. I spent several hours hiding and praying in the forests. While I kept seeking the face of God for my business, never did I know I went to the forest with an experience that is needed to be applied there.
God used me to stop 2 suicide attempts
On one occasion a Pastor defaulted a bank loan from a neighbouring country visited a relative in search for financial help to go and pay his indebtedness. He could not get the funds on the deadline so he resorted to commit suicide. The pastor bought some chemicals and was ready to go and die in the forest where I was praying. I suspected quickly that this man may need help. So I engaged him in a conversation. He wanted to pretend but God revealed 2 things about him to me and when I mentioned to him that he couldn’t deny. 1. That he is a pastor. 2. The life of his daughter in danger if he die now.
After he listened to me, he narrated his story of indebtedness and the amount was far less to jail a person for even 10 years. The Holy Spirit gave me a suitable language. As a result of that, I convinced him to hand over the deadly chemicals to me and finally we destroyed it. Long story short ‘ he has since returned to his family.
All to the Glory of God ; YHVH in the name of Jesus Christ.
ATTENTION: Richoka, in line with your experiences, you mentioned a recruitment job; please this may not be the right forum but I hope you can guide me with a job search
3. We were once surrounded by armed robbers in the night at a gun point. The boys started searching ladies bags for whatever. Suddenly, the gang leader showed up from nowhere and shouted my name ‘ABRAHAM ‘! And he commanded his boys to stop, and to my surprise he introduced himself to me from a previous school where he dropped out etc he further made all the gangsters salute me one after the other. You could see people crying and I was shocked throughout. I have never experienced such a thing neither perceive such a thing can happen to me. Everyone was spared
Afterwards, any time I reflect over it; the message becomes clearer that God is with me and if I do well He will continue to use me to bring relief to many more people
4. I visited my family in the recent past end of year holidays.
My family had some challenges and I overspent even including my return fares.
I managed to get a small loan that facilitated my return journey.
When part payment was due just last 2 Fridays ago I did not have it so I started sweating as if a malaria patient. I decided to pray for help and I did exactly that at dawn. When I finished praying and about to get up I heard a voice telling me to tell God let me get a help to settle the debt . It was dawn and later in the day a friend sent a whatsapp message and requested my contact for him to send me something small. That something small was enough to take care of that burden.
The mystery here is that I did not discuss the matter with anyone but the offer came to me in a dignified manner.
I thanked God for my friends and continues blessings
5. When I started making organic fruit juice and packaged in250 and 350ml bottled, the sales fluctuates so I try hard to avoid over producing more than the quantity that I can distribute or sell off a day, in order to maintain a certain quality . Meanwhile, the real market experience is completely different. Sometimes I dole out as gifts before they get flattened. Some people tried hard to stop me. There are times the demand will be like a rush and I have to quickly produce top-ups. On the downside products can overstay. During the downside seasons or days something interesting has repeated.
One day a Malaysian man bought the products and asked me if I am the one that personally produced it. I answered yes sir. From that day he comes from time to time.
For some strange reason when I ran into what I call the downside ‘ this Malaysian man had repeatedly appeared at my place and he will shake my hands and give me cash that covers the losses. Sometimes when he is leaving my premises I will just stand up to my feet and talk to God directly that’ it is you but no other’ sometimes I want to give up and then God intervenes. I will sit back and reassess myself and the situation and say God is real
God Worked Miracles for others, He did it for me – He will do it for ‘you’ reading.
Many thanks and God bless you all
Shalom
Abraham,
Thank you so much for sharing!
I just read your testimonials in full.
Indeed, God has been working in your life.
May I ask what country you are from? Malaysia?
Be blessed!
Hi Richoka
Many thanks for your continues assistance
Please I am from Ghana.
I have been to the Asian Pacific before, especially Singapore.
Currently I am in Ghana, West Africa.
I would not mind to travel for a job
Thanks and God bless you sir
Thanks for replying, Abraham.
Be blessed!
Dear Richoka good day ,
my comments are not showing here.
I was told my message is going through moderation.
I returned later but could not find it . So I sent it again.
When I returned to check it was also not visible.
Now that I tried sending it the third time and I am told the system detected a duplication
Please kindly help me out
Thanks Sir
Hi Abraham,
Sorry for the delay.
I just reviewed and approved your comment.
Be blessed!