How many times have you heard those two words before?  Our daily lives seem to be filled with “no-brainers”. When you go into a store and the sign says “Buy One, Get One Free”, do you leave the free one on the shelf?  Of course not! You take the free one.  That is a “no-brainer.” If you go to the clothing store and see a sweater that you really like, and there are five of them on the shelf, but you know that tomorrow the 50% off sale starts, do you buy it today or wait until tomorrow? Some of you wise guys will buy it today and then bring it back tomorrow to return it and buy it again for 50% off. But for most of us, we will wait until tomorrow because it is a “no-brainer”.  We do all kinds of things each and every day without giving any thought it.

One of the daily devotionals that I read yesterday morning took me to 2 Samuel and I came across a couple of “no-brainers”, or at least what I would have thought to be so. David has just been made king of Israel. He is 30 years old and in 2 Samuel 5 we are told in v.10 that “he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.”  The passage goes on to tell us in v.12 “And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people.”  That is a pretty good position to be in, don’t you think? Not too much to worry about there! David pretty much has the green light to govern and rule because he is smack dab in the middle of the will of God, doing exactly what God would have him to do. The passage goes on to tell us that the arch rival enemies of the Israelites, the Philistines, hear about this and they plan an attack with the intention of eliminating David immediately.  We are told in v.19 so David inquires of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?” You sort of want to say to David,” uh, yeah, I already made you king and have established your kingdom, of course you should go,” but the LORD says to him “Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you.”  And God did exactly that.  It was probably a good thing and somewhat understandable for David to check in with God this first time.  

But look at what happens a little bit later.  Once more the Philistines came and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD…v.22.  WHY???  Is this not a “no-brainer”?  David has just become king; his kingdom has been established by the LORD; he is attacked by the Philistines and he asks God what he should do, and God gives him a resounding victory; how many more times does he have to ask God if he should attack the Philistines?  David, this is what we in the 21st century call a “no brainer”.  Of course you should go!  He has already been victorious. These are God’s people. God has already promised to be with him and His people. Why waste any more time?  Get after it! Is that not what we do today? How many of you got out of bed this morning and never gave any thought to running your anticipated schedule by the God who gave you life and sustains it every day?  We all do it!  In fact, we will tell God our schedule and then expect Him to bless it and prosper us.  Not so with David.  David has already been victorious in one battle buecause of the strength of the LORD, so why would he not ask God about the battles ahead in the coming day?  Is God too busy?  Of course not!  We might be, but God is never too busy to hear you talk to Him.

We can learn something here from David.  Do not take one step into this new day without talking to God. PRAYER!  Why would you want to do that anyway?  Do you honestly think that you can face the challenges of this coming day and the coming week apart from the grace of God? We all enjoy and benefit from the grace of God every moment of every day. Why not talk to Him about it? Why not thank Him for it? Why not start your day with something like this: Good morning God. Thank you for another day of life. Thank you for a good night of rest. Thank you for watching over and protecting me and those in our family. You know the plans that I have for today, but I ask You to go before me and allow me to see Your hand at work in my life today, and I will give you the praise and glory due to You.  Amen. One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but it is the LORD who determines his steps. If you are a child of God, do not forget that truth! Psalm 32:8 tells us: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you.

Why would anyone not desire that for their lives? Don’t exchange what you might call a “no-brainer” for the opportunity to hear the counsel of Almighty God. “Do not leave your house this morning without inquiring of the LORD.”