Don’t Settle for Less than God’s Best

By Pastor Tim Klassen

It is a wonderful thing to settle an argument or settle your nerves; it is not so wonderful when you settle for less than what could have been. One of the definitions of the word settle is: “to sink gradually to the bottom.” As we are waiting on something that we desire, or something that has been promised, we are often given opportunities to settle and accept something else. That something that might seem acceptable, “good enough,” or even desirable — but it also may be less than God’s best for us. 

Allow me to illustrate this by taking us back to the 13th Century B.C. God’s people had recently been set free from slavery in Egypt, and were on their way towards entering the land God had promised them. They were eye witnesses to numerous signs, wonders and miracles, such as the parting of the Red Sea so they could escape those who had enslaved them for generations. They were on the brink of crossing over the Jordan River, when two of the tribes of Israel had this thought cross their mind: maybe the land they were standing in was good enough. Numbers 32 records the following,

    “Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock…. And they said… “let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.” (Numbers 32:1-2, 5)

As farmers, these two tribes saw the potential that the land of Jazer and Gilead had, and they started dreaming about what it could look like as their new home. Rather than wait on the fulfillment of the promise from their God to bring them into a land “flowing with milk and honey”(Exodus 3:17), the people of Reuben and Gad allowed their minds to drift into a state of settling. Moses went on to caution them against remaining there, and even though he seemed to accept their offer in the end, the sentiment that I perceive in Scripture is that they settled for less than they should have.

As I read through their story a few months ago, I was struck with the warning that I felt the Lord was speaking to me: refuse to settle for less than God’s best. We ought to strive to seek after God’s very best will for our lives, and not allow anything to distract us or tempt us into accepting any alternative option. When we think of temptation we often think about things that are blatantly sinful or morally destructive, but I believe we can be tempted to settle — and sometimes settling itself can be a sin! Pastor Tim Challies defines temptation as, “anything that promises satisfaction at the cost of your obedience to God.”

We ought to be quick to recognize temptations to settle. When opportunities come before us that might seem good, or even potentially great, we should pause and pray so we can discern whether it is God’s best for us. My hope and prayer is that we would all be a people who walk in the fullness of God’s perfect plan for us.

Read the article in the Niagara Falls Review