As Soon as You Hear the Sound
Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 5:17-25
“As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you. . . .”
As I write this, I hear a stand of quaking aspens clattering in the breeze. According to legend, some First Nations people referred to these as the “noisy trees” because of their leaves’ loud fluttering in the wind.
David had learned to be a wise warrior because he relied on the Lord to guide him to many victories over the enemies of God’s people. In our reading for today, we see that David shows complete trust in God to lead him. On two occasions before engaging in battle, David asks God how he should proceed. In the first situation, God gives David the go-ahead. But in the next situation, God tells David to circle around the enemy and then wait until he hears “the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees”—and then he should move quickly because that will mean the Lord has gone ahead to defeat the enemy. The sound in the trees may well have prevented the enemy from hearing David and his men circling around and advancing behind them.
Today too we can ask God for guidance in all that he calls us to do. And in some ways like David, we will need to look and listen for signs of the Lord’s working. Today, with the Lord’s Spirit living in our hearts, we can trust that he is guiding us to live as his people and to share his good news of salvation and new life in Christ. Are we looking and listening so that we can follow God’s lead?
Spirit of God, we need you to show us where you are working today. Help us to be attentive and obedient, trusting that you will lead us always. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — Julia Prins Vanderveen
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