“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” (2 Samuel 6:7).
A friend recently reminded me, that just because it’s a good thing, it doesn’t mean it’s a God thing. Often times we encounter situations that appear to be a good thing, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s from the Lord. I would dare to say that all of us have been through some drama in our life because we mistook something that looked good as a blessing from God. Maybe it was revealed to you as a result of a relationship. Maybe you discovered it after taking a job. Maybe it was made known to you in a deal that went bad. I believe all of us can agree with the saying “everything that glitters ain’t gold.”
In our text, David and his companions find out the hard way that what may seem like a good thing may not be the best thing.
David and his boys are in the process of returning the Ark to Jerusalem when they are met with tragedy on their journey. It appears that they are doing a good thing for the Lord by returning God’s presence to the holy city. However, we discover that though their intentions were good, God didn’t assign the people guiding the Ark. The Ark was supposed to be handled by the priestly tribe of Levi and not by sons from the house of Abinadab. In addition, the Ark wasn’t supposed to be transported on a cart. It was supposed to be carried by consecrated hands. Their intention was good, but their approach was bad and one person ended up paying the price.
David and his crew were doing a good thing, but unfortunately it was not a God thing. They had great intentions of bringing the Ark back to Israel, but they didn’t use the approach that God prescribed.
Be careful not to mistake a good thing as a God thing because you may end up making a terrible mistake. You may find yourself on a job that you don’t like. You may end up with somebody who doesn’t have your best interest in mind. When a good thing comes your way seek out the Lord before you end up in a bad situation.
For further study, please read 2 Samuel 6:1-8.