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Don’t go sticking your head in the sand.

A little while ago I wrote about “To Jump or to walk away?” I feel like I tried to take the leap. …… and now I feel that I have fallen flat onto my face.

I was trying to take a route that I kind of didn’t want you take, but yet I felt compelled to try it all the same.
Has that route now finished?

At the time I was considering whether to apply for a patent, or not.
I did start to take the steps to apply. I contacted professional people to assist me. I even started writing a first draft to send to the professional person that I was going to work with.
Then I found the prior art that stopped everything.
Short version here, for a patent to be considered, there needs to be no prior art. So finding the prior art stopped me in my tracks.

I did try searching for the prior art before I started the process, but I didn’t find any, at that point in time. Then I found some, when I wasn’t looking for it. …… (Sometimes that’s just the way it goes.)

What to do now?
Ignore it?
Pretend that it isn’t there?
How well would that work out?

Not very well is probably the answer.
If I could find it, then a professional searcher is very likely to find it. Do I really want to set sail on a boat that has a large target on it, just waiting for the torpedo that will sink it?
Not a good option.

It has got me thinking, when we find something that we don’t like, then how do we deal with it?
Do we just try to ignore it and pretend that it isn’t really there?
We’ve all probably been there at some point in time. 🙂
How well does it work out when we take this tatic?
It’s called sticking your head in the sand, and it’s generally not a good thing to do.

If there is something that we need to deal with, then it’s going to be better if we deal with it.

So, now that I feel as though I have fallen flat onto my face, do I regret leaping?

No. I don’t regret leaping.
I am a bit upset that I didn’t find the prior art when I first went searching for it. But I have learnt from the road I travelled.
I have made a new contact that could be useful in time.
Maybe the value has been the lessons that I have learnt???
I have written about this in a previous post of, “Do we sometimes need to try again?“

Another thought that keeps coming back to me is, “We are only meant to bring the loaves and fishes.“
Ultimately we are meant to walk the walk that is before us, but does that mean that we will always have success in all that we do? In our own eyes I’m talking about. All we are meant to do, is be willing to bring what we have to the table. What the results will be belongs to another.
Are we willing to bring what we have to the table, regardless of what the outcome will be?

It’s one thing to write or just talk about these things, it’s another to actually walk them. Sometimes things are just not as easy as we would like them to be, but, will we be willing to have a go at, …… anyway?

Ultimately I’m just so pleased, and amazed that I found the information out before I really started to spend any real resources on a ship that was possibly bound to sink.
I have to give thanks and praise to my Lord God for this.

So is the path that I was trying actually over???
Maybe, and maybe not? I might just need to take a different route?
I just need to keep looking to my Heavenly Father and ask, “Where am I going to next?” He does have my back and I can trust Him and His plans for me.
Back to a bit more smoke grappling for me then. 🙂
For the moment, I’ll try to continue in the same way as Habakkuk did.

Habakkuk 3:18-19

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Saviour.

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.

______________________________

I wrote the above last night.
Today is a new day and an email from the professional seems to indicate that what I thought was dead, might not be quite as dead as I thought it was……

Just need to hear my Heavenly Fathers thoughts and try to follow His prompting, all the more now.

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Do it for the Fun of it!

Have you ever started doing something just for the fun of it, but then at some point it just became that much more serious?
I’m talking about when you were doing something just for the love of it, but then it started to change into something that seemed to matter in a big way. Then all of a sudden, the fun factor just seems to up and leave the room.

The question that is playing on my mind at the moment is, “Why does this have to get so serious? Can’t I just do this for the fun of it?”

If you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m trying to have a serious word with myself about not loosing the fun in what I am doing.
Unfortunately it’s all too easy to do just this.
We start something and it’s just something that we play with, and it’s a bit of fun. But then at some point, we start to take it (or ourselves) too seriously, and then the fun just disappears as it becomes the hard slog of work.
Why do we do this?

Do we do this with our Lord God as well?

Is there something that Our Lord God wants for us to work on, that is meant to be fun for us, but somehow we just manage to miss the fun factor in it.

How do we do this?
Take it too seriously?
Hold it too tightly?
Maybe we just see the work to be done and omitt the fun that should also be present, for whatever reason we manage to grab hold of?

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In the above verse we can see that there is a work for us all to do. “Taking a yoke upon us”, is clearly saying “do the work that He has for us.” But it also states that His yoke is “easy” and His burden is “light”.

So why is it that we can become overburdened and worn out?

Do we pick up more than we should do?
Do we try to rely to much on our own strength rather than resting in and calling on His strength?
Do we pick up more than we should because others won’t do their bit?
Will we allow others to help out with what we are doing?
Will we share that which we are carrying?
Will we cope if someone else tries to do something differently to how we think it should be done?

The above are just some few questions which have just gone through my mind.
Do any of them apply to you?
Are there any other thoughts that Our Heavenly Father is bringing to your mind now, that He wants you to talk to Him about?

I’ve heard it said that the way we do church can be like a football stadium on match day.
23 people (including the ref) running about on the pitch in need of a rest, while 40 thousand spectators, who are in need of exercise, stand around and shout. 🙂

Can we do any better than this?
I do hope that the answer to this one is a yes.
But how can we make it a yes?

First thing is to be aware that there is a problem. (Houston, we have a problem.)
Then are we willing to change how we do ……..
I am talking about everybody being willing to change. Not just, “Oh, if only they would just do this!” 🙂
The real question is, “Am I willing to change what I do, so that I am no longer part of the problem?”

A really annoying phrase someone said to me once is, “If you’re not part of the solution then you’re part of the problem!”
I’ll try to not dwell too much on this one, (I’m thinking that it could be a rabbit hole to avoid at the moment). But a previous post of “Somebody else’s problem” does ask the question of “Should I pick this up or put this down?”

Another thought that keeps running through my mind as I write this is, “Can we see potential for development, in place of neat and tidy?“
Yes, it’s another previous post. A link is above for anyone who would like to read the full post.
Quick summary. We like neat and tidy, but in trying to keep things neat and tidy, do we then choke potential for development? We might not be able to have both, as potential for development could mean doing something differently, and possibly in a slightly awkward manner. In a messy way, …. possibly?

From starting a post that was asking, “Can we keep the fun in this?” Well, I seem to have got all serious again. 🙂

There are times when we do need to be a bit more serious, but hopefully we can can still keep an element of fun to what we are doing. Can we try to remember that His yoke is meant you be easy, and His burden light?

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

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The pace you Run at Matters.

Pace has very much so been on my mind recently. The pace I’ve been thinking about is not running away with myself.

Sometimes, when I have a thought like this, things just then seem to happen. Yesterday was one if those days. As I was going about my business, I had two people run/trot in front of me, when they could have just walked. It made me smile. OK Lord, it’s OK to pace yourself.

The first instance was as I went to reverse off my drive. I put my car into reverse and was about to go, but just then a man came into view. I instantly hit my brakes, before I’d even moved. He saw this, then walked/trotted past the back of my car. “It’s OK, I’ve seen you. You could just walk.” Was my thought.

The second time was but just a couple of minutes later. I was approaching a zebra crossing and was about to go over. I could have gone over safely, but a different man was just coming into view (I don’t think the first man was running as fast as my car 🙂 ). As I saw him, I slowed down to let him cross (he did have the right of way.) I did slow down a bit faster than normal, but it wan’t an emergency stop. He did cross in front of me, but at a slightly quickened pace (all while having a good pace is playing through my mind). “You could have just walked. I’ve already stopped, and I have the time to wait for you you cross in front of me.” Was something of my thoughts, as again I smiled to myself.

Later on in the day, I was at the shops, having something to eat with my wife. In the distance, I could see a small child running off into the distance, looking round as they do. Big grin on it’s face as it was just running away. A parent was soon behind it, bringing it back, still with it’s smile on its face. I’ve seen it many times before, as I guess you might have. This time the thought comes. “What would happen if the child ran too far ahead? If it ran out of the sight or reach of it parent.” Thankfully this didn’t happen, but OK Lord, I’m getting the message. It’s OK to pace yourself, and go at the pace You set.

The pace that I’m talking about is the pace you go at when Our Father starts you show you ………

This week has been a slightly quickened pace week, for me. I’ve been seeing a few more things (or more correctly, more has been revealed to me by Our Lord.) This has had the effect of getting me a bit more excited than usual.
When I start to see something new, then my mind can go into overdrive. It can be a fun ride, but it can also be exhausting. Hence my need for pace. I don’t want you get too ahead of myself (just like a toddler running away could) and end up lost in my own thoughts.
I would rather remain in My Lords thoughts, or at His pace.
I needed to know that it’s OK to slow down. I don’t want be like the two people, who kind of ran before my car, when they could have just walked. I also don’t want to be in the position of a toddler running off into the distance. 🙂

Yes it’s good to ride the wave, but don’t get too far ahead, and then wipe out.
Instead, keep to a pace that can be sustained.
If you are in a sprint race then sprint with all that you have, but if you are in a marathon then set a more manageable pace. His pace.
Keep to the beat of His drum, and wait on Him to see where He will take you and what He will show you.

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To Jump, or to walk away?

Have you ever been at a place where you could see a really good route to take?
The kind of route where there could be real benefits, but it’s all new to you?
The kind of route where it all looks rather daunting, but you still want to take it all the same.

I’m kind of facing a bit (or a lot) of this at the moment.
It’s a bit like….

I am currently feeling that I am standing on top of a cliff, waiting to jump.
I’m hoping that I do have a parachute on my back and not a backpack full of lead weights. 🙂
I’m hoping that the parachute is in good order and will work, when it is needed.
I’m hoping further still that the parachute turns out to be a paraglider that will catch an up draught and lift me up to new heights that I’m barely daring to dream about and that I will cover a vast distance without even knowing how I’ve managed to do any of it.
At present, I’m still only on the cliff top, thinking…. do I go… or not….???

It’s a rather daunting place to be at. I can see the potential, but I can also see the risk.
I see that I could soar…. or I could fall flat on my face.
So do I go, or not?
I’m currently looking like I’m going to take the next step, and then it’s a case of here we go.

How many times has Our Loving Heavenly Father brought us to such a point?

If He brings us to such a point, then will we be willing to just JUMP!

I’m not advocating reckless jumping, but hearing His voice. Knowing that it IS His Voice, and then following His leading of where it is best to go.

How many times is Our Lord God just waiting for us to say “Yes” to His plans?

He won’t push us off the edge of the cliff!
He has given us freedom of choice.
So He patiently waits for our choice, to jump, or walk away.

He has soooo much goodness for us, if we can just hear, know and follow His plans.

Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Psalm 81;13-16
13 “If my people would only listen to me,
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Lord God,
Help us to know and follow Your voice that much better.
If you are leading us in a way that You want us to take, then please help us to Know that it Is You who is leading and guiding us.
Help us to know, trust and follow You that much better.
Our Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

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Try to Not just dismiss someone’s problems/difficulties.

The title of this post has very much so been very relevant to me just recently.

I’ve seen first hand someone worrying over something that I think is actually very small, and should not really be anything to be too concerned about. No I will not be sharing the details, but I do I intend to share some of my thoughts/lessons I have learned, through the experience.

So, where to start?
Repeating the title??

Try to Not just dismiss someone’s problems/difficulties.

If we see someone struggling with something rather small, and what we think is rather insignificant, then it can be very tempting to just brush it off as nonsense. We could possibly be tempted to just say, “Oh come on, just get over it man (or woman)!”

How helpful would such words be???

This is were it can get very confusing right from the start.
For one person, the above words could be just what they need to hear. If the rebuke brings about a change of thinking that leads to holiness, then it could be just the thing to do.

However, if the person receiving the rebuff doesn’t receive the rebuff in a good way, then could it just become an extra weight for them to carry?

The extra weight could reveal itself as thoughts like, “Why am I worrying about this? This is so small and insignificant. Is there something seriously wrong with me, because I just can’t seem to let this go, even though everyone keeps telling me that this is nothing!”

Are you starting to see how this can get very confusing, right out of the starting blocks?

I’m thinking that the only place to start looking into this, is to ask the question, “Why are you saying, what you are saying?”

Are you operating from a position of frustration or love?
If you are operating from a position of frustration, then are you just unloading your frustrations onto someone who is already carrying a load that is too heavy for them, regardless of what you think about the lightness of their load?

Operating from a position of frustration is always going to be a bad starting point.
However, The Lord Our God can turn our bad starts around for His good and His glory. But how much better will it be if we can make a good start?

Could operating from a position of love be a better start?
I’m hoping that everyone is saying yes to that one. 🙂

A rebuke from a friend sent in love should be so much easier to bear with when compared to a rebuke from an enemy who just wants to taunt and ridicule you.

Do you want to be a friend or an enemy to the one in trouble? (No matter how small the trouble is.)

I’ve written about How to help someone who doesn’t want help in a previous post. I’ve also written about (in a round about way) why are you bringing a word of …… to …… in a post called A word from the Lord, or a word from the enemy.
If you are prompted to, then consider having a read/re-read of one or both of them.

If you do see someone struggling with something that you think is just tiny, then is there a better response than just, “Pull yourself together man (or woman)!”

Could you bring words of encouragement instead?
Words of encouragement from the Bible could be a good start.

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

2 Corinthians 12:9
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

The above are but only a small number of encouraging bible verses that can be found, in the bible.
The bible is actually just fully loaded with the Good Stuff. We just need to read it and be fed by it!

I think that I should try to sum this post up now, before it just becomes an epic full length book. 🙂

If a word of rebuke is needed, then can we bring it in love?
If a word of encouragement is needed, then can we bring that in love?
And Lord, can we please have the discernment to know what is needed, for any given situation.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

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Breakthrough of the Teabag!

I had a breakthrough this morning. My teabag split, just as I was at the finishing point of making my morning tea…. and the tea leaves broke through into my tea. 🙂 …. Or should that be 😦

It’s not the type of breakthrough that I like.
So why am I writing a post about it?
Because I think that there are some lessons that can be learned from the experience.

The first one is that I was inconvenienced by the breakthrough.
I had my plan, it was to drink the cup of tea. It was ready and brewed, all I needed to do was to remove the tea bag.
But as I did, the breakthrough was discovered.
What now?
Do I just ignore this breakthrough and continue to drink the tea as I had planned to?
Not a good option.

When breakthrough happens in your life, then are you ready to be inconvenienced by it?
Whatever that may mean?

Once I had accepted that my plans had to change, I then needed to do some clear up duty.
I had to throw the tea away. The tea went down the plug, whilst the tea leaves were caught in a make shift filter. I didn’t want them to clog up the plumbing. I then had to empty the remaining tea leaves in the cup into the bin as well. Then finally the cup was washed up, to remove the final remnants.

When breakthrough comes, will there be some clearing up, cleaning to be done?
Will some things need to be thrown out?
Will some things need to be filtered or dealt with differently, dependant on what we see?
Do we have the necessary skills, tools in place for this?
Can we try to pre-arm ourselves with these skills, tools?
Do we even know what we will need?

I then needed to start all over again and make a fresh cup of tea.

Once we have got over the inconvenience of breakthrough and dealt with the clean up that is needed. Then will we be ready and willing to start over again?
Will we be able to follow the old pattern or will there be a new pattern to follow?
Will we be able to know His way, and then follow His leading and His ways?

Lord,
Are we ready for Your Breakthrough?
Please help us to be ready.
Help us to say Yes to You that much more.
If there are things that we need to know about, then can You pre-teach us those lessons, so that we can be that much more prepared for You, and Your breakthrough.
Our Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

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One Vital Step… Just not Done.

I came home from work today and went into the kitchen.
I saw the slow cooker out on the side. Ah, a good slow cooked meal to eat tonight. (Have you guessed where this is going yet?)

I looked at the slow cooker, and something just didn’t seem right.
The gravy wasn’t bubbling. The vegetables looked a little bit on the raw side. There was no heat in the pot!

What’s going on here then?

A quick look at the slow cooker and the problem was soon revealed.
It was plugged in and switched on at the mains…. but, the switch on the slow cooker itself had not been switched on. Doh.

Everything else had been done.
The meat had been prepared and added to the pot.
The vegetables had been cleaned, peeled (where needed) and cut and added to the pot.
The gravy had been mixed, and the herbs had been added…. to the pot.

Everything that was needed to be done to make a lovely slow cooked meal had been done…. except for one final step.
The switch hadn’t been turned to the on position, on the slow cooker.

I just smiled to myself, and thought, “We will be eating something different, to what was planned for tonight, then.” 🙂

I then also thought, “How many times do we do this with God?”

How many times have we been asked to do something, by our Loving Heavenly Father, and then only gone and done so much, and then just stopped?

How many times have we done all the vital preparation work and then just stopped because of ……

How many good home cooked meals have we missed out on, from Our Lord God Almighty, because we just didn’t take that last final step?

How many times have we been left with the promise of a good meal, but only been left with an uncooked meal…. just because we didn’t do….. ?

Our Lord God Almighty has so much goodness for us, if we will just follow His ways.
If we will just go over that final hurdle.

Psalm 81:8-16
8 Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—
    if you would only listen to me, Israel!
9 You shall have no foreign god among you;
    you shall not worship any god other than me.
10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

11 “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me,
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

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Put down your oil canvas painting, and look to Your God instead!

Last week I wrote about how sometimes hearing from God can feel like, it can be grappling with smoke.
Or to put it another way. It can feel like I’m trying to view a smoke picture.

If it is my Lord God’s smoke picture that He is showing to me, then that’s always going to be better than any canvas oil painting that I can make up.

The problem that I can sometimes fall into is, that I can partly hear a truth, that my Lord God is telling me. Then I take this (partial) truth, go off and metaphorically pick up my oil paints and then make a wonderful oil canvas painting (wonderful in my own eyes).

This is where it can get a bit “Oh dear.”
This is where I can possibly have something with a partial truth of God to it, but with too much of me included in it as well.

Hence the title of this post, “Put down your oil canvas painting, and look to Your God instead!”

Part of the problem with my oil canvas painting is that it can appear to be solid and substantial (in my eyes). But when compared to my Heavenly Fathers plans… , then it just seems rather silly and very much so incomplete. 🙂

I do know this to be true, but I still seem to like picking up the oil paints and …..

So how can I endeavour to put the oil painting down and look to Him instead?

Be aware that I can get things wrong, is possibly the first step.
Keep asking, “Is this me getting it wrong or is this of You, Lord?”
Do my thoughts line up with what the bible says? (I do mean what the bible is telling me and not the other way around. 🙂 )
I can even share my thoughts with others and ask them what they think. I do believe that fellowship is the technical name for that one. 🙂

I’ve just re-read the above paragraph, and to me it reads like a longer version of “prayer, word and fellowship.”
Prayer, asking Our Lord God for His input.
Word, checking what we are thinking lines up with the bible.
Fellowship, sharing with others to seek out the truth.

Putting into practice the three legged stool concept of prayer, word and fellowship is always going to be a good practice.

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

So when it comes down to it, are we able to put our oil canvas painting down? Turn our back to it and then sit at Our Lord God’s feet and then wait for Him to share with us what His thoughts are?
It will work out so much better for us if we can seek His thoughts, in place of our own.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

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Grappling with Smoke??

What is it like to Hear the Word of the Lord Our God?

For me, it can sometimes feel like I am grappling with smoke!

An idea starts to form, I like what I see, and then try to reach for it. But as I reach for it, it disperses before my very eyes. 😦
Sometimes the idea forms again the moment my hand is removed, other times it takes time for the smoke to start forming again.

It’s not always like this.
Sometimes an idea just presents itself, and can be handled instantly. Possibly to be applied the moment it is formed, or not. (Timing matters.)

The Lord Our God, can speak to us in whatever way He choses to!

His word, the bible. A great place to start, and the only place to check that your thoughts are in line with His!!
Music. There is sooo much GOOD Christian music out there!
Get it into you! Be led by Your Heavenly Father as to what is the Best track for you at any given moment. (Or just listen to what’s available (His music I’m talking about) when it’s available.)
Fellowship. Meet and share with other believers. How much more will He reveal to us, as we do this?
And of course Prayer (should this one have been top of the list?) Spend time talking to AND listening to Our Loving Heavenly Father. He wants to spend time with us!! (That one really shouldn’t be too much of a news flash. :-))

I’ve just re-read the above.
It’s like WOW, that’s not where my thoughts were as I started to write this. This is so much better! Thank you for leading and guiding my typing, My Lord God.
(Is this something of how this smoke grappling works?
As we do….we are given more…???)

So, can/will we converse with Our Lord God…. in whatever way He choses to speak to us?
Will we make ourselves available to Him, so that we can then Hear His words to us, even if (sometimes) it feels like we are just grappling with smoke?

My Loving Heavenly Father,
Help me to hear Your words that much more clearly.
You know that I would like to have a solid something to take hold of, and sometimes You do, do just that.
But at other times, it can be like I am grappling with smoke.
In them times, please help me to just rest at Your feet, and allow You to speak to me, that which you want to share with me.
My Loving Lord God Almighty.
Amen.

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Can we sometimes be too Busy doing God’s Work, so that we then miss His words?

This might sound like a bit of a nonsense title to some (or a lot), but is there something to it?

I have recently read 2 Samuel 6 1-11 It’s the account about when David first tried to bring the ark to Jerusalem. The time when it went wrong.

They put the ark on a new cart, verse 3. This was a mistake.
The ark was meant to be carried by the Levites using wooden poles which where placed through rings on the side of the ark. This is how God instructed the people to move the ark.

Exodus 25:13-15
13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.

Joshua 3:3
giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.

Yet in verse 3 of 2 Samuel 6, it was placed on a new cart. In verses 6 and 7, it goes very wrong.

6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Where was David at this moment. We have the answer in verse 5.

5 David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

So David was doing the Lord’s work, praising God.

But while doing this, they failed to listen to His instructions for how the ark should be moved.

How was The Lord feeling as David and all Israel danced before Him?
Was He pleased with them, …. or was His anger burning against them, all the while, because they didn’t listen to His instruction of how the ark should be carried?
Was The Lords anger slowly burning all the time they were singing and dancing?

Can we sometimes find ourselves in David’s position? Doing work for Him, whilst not Hearing His words to us?
Can we sometimes get too caught up in what we are doing, so that we miss, that which matters most?
Hearing His voice and what He has to say to us?

Saul knew something about this. Saul lost the position of King of Israel, because he continued to not hear and follow the Lords instructions.
1 Samuel 15 is where The Lord rejects Saul as king.

Where do we want to be, when it comes to hearing what The Lord Our God is saying to us?

Are we willing to hear what He is saying to us, even when it is inconvenient to us?

Are we willing to hear what He is saying to us, even if it is different to what we want to hear?

Did anyone say to David, “Shouldn’t we use the poles, rather than a new cart?”

Did Uzzah pay the price for everyone getting it wrong?

Was Uzzah just the one who was in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Was Uzzah the sacrificial lamb, that meant that everyone else got your go home on that day?

In verse 8 we can then see that David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah.
But what caused David’s anger?
Is it because things didn’t work out to how he had planned for them to go?

Verse 8 states that “the Lords wrath had broken out against Uzzah”, but did David get this bit wrong as well?
Was it that The Lord’s wrath had broken out against all of Israel, and not just Uzzah?
All because the ark was placed on a cart, instead of being carried as it should have been?

In verses 9 and 10, we can then also see that David effectively walked away from God. He was afraid of the Lord that day, and was not willing to take the ark of the Lord with him, to where he was.
Are all these consequences of David and the people not following God’s instructions in the first place?

So, what could we learn from this?

Are we willing to hear Our Lord God’s way for how to do all things?
Will we try to not put the ark on the cart?
Will we endeavour to not say, “Lord, we’ve got this, we know what we are doing here. You just rest on the cart and let us do our thing.” ?
Instead, will we try to hear His words and follow His prompting’s so that we can then remain in step with His Ways and His Purposes?
Remaining in His ways and His purposes will always be the best option for us, if we can just hear and follow His voice and His steps.