Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
2 Samuel 17:14 (NIV)

I’ve been doing a lot of interviews over the last couple of months about my book. One of the questions I’m repeatedly asked is how I ended up in a job analyzing thousands and thousands of recorded business phone calls. The short answer is that I just sort of fell into it. I found myself needing a job and the founder of our company needed someone for a rather unique role that wasn’t even fully developed.

Looking back with 20-20 hindsight, I can now see how God had been quietly arranging things in the background for years. There is no doubt in my mind that this was God’s plan all along. I tried to go a different direction, but life and circumstances continually forced me to change course until I found myself sitting at a Village Inn restaurant being offered a job I never wanted in the business sector I’d wanted no part of, with no earthly idea what I was doing.

It was perfect.

Jesus famously said that if we ask, seek, and knock, we will receive and find. Doors will open. For over a decade, I’d been asking God to lead me where He wanted me. I’d been continually seeking His will. I kept knocking on doors. Some of the doors weren’t the right ones — and they closed. I kept going until I eventually stood in front of the right door.

Today’s chapter finds us amidst the intrigue of a game of thrones. Absalom appears to be rising. He holds all the cards. He’s got the capital, the palace, the army, the nation’s elders, and even his father’s most trusted advisors. David is hiding in the wilderness with just his closest allies. But he also has one spy in the midst of Absalom’s court — Hushai the Arkite.

A couple of chapters ago, when Absalom sprung his trap and David heard that his most trusted advisor, Ahithophel, had conspired with Absalom — David threw up a popcorn prayer:

“Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

In today’s chapter, God answers that prayer.

When Absalom holds court to determine the plan to finish David off, Ahithophel gives sage advice. His plan is stragetically genius:

• Take 12,000 elite troops.
• Attack David tonight.
• David’s followers are exhausted and demoralized.
• Kill only David.
• Spare everyone else.
• The kingdom returns peacefully to Absalom.

It’s exactly the kind of decisive strike that wins civil wars. Even the narrator notes: “The advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God.”

Then Hushai speaks up to suggest a different course of action. In doing so, David’s man plays to the ego of the young and newly enthroned Absalom. Instead of strategy, he tells a story. He paints vivid metaphorical images.

David is like:

• a cornered bear robbed of her cubs
• a seasoned warrior
• hiding in caves
• impossible to surprise

Instead of letting Ahithophel win the glory, Husai argues, why not have you lead an enormous national army? Gather everyone. March in overwhelming strength. Let all Israel see their handsome king leading them into battle.

It is masterful psychology. Absalom chooses Hushai. Hushai warns David. God continues to provide for David and his men through the kindness of others. The stage is set for the climax of this political and familial drama.

There is a term in Hebrew thought, hashgachah. Hashgachah refers to God’s providential oversight that works through ordinary events rather than spectacular miracles. Today’s chapter is a great example. No sea parts. No fire falls from heaven. No angels appear.

God governs conversations and egos. God works through timing, human decisions, and the intrigue of human politics. As I discovered when I found myself being offered the job that would become my strange career, God’s providence often wears very ordinary clothes.

“The LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel…”

Notice what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say God frustrated bad advice, or foolish advice, or evil advice. God frustrated very good advice. Sometimes what threatens God’s purposes is not obvious evil. It’s perfectly reasonable human wisdom that leaves God out of the equation.

That realization has become more meaningful to me the older I get. Along my journey, God quietly closed doors that looked promising, logical, and even wise. At the time, those disappointments felt confusing. Looking back, I realized that they were unexpected mercies.

I tend to imagine God’s guidance arriving with lightning bolts and unmistakable signs. Today’s chapter suggests something quieter. God works through delayed decisions, inflated egos, courageous friends, ordinary meals, hidden wells, and conversations behind closed doors. He governs history without constantly interrupting it.

In the quiet this morning, I hear a whispered invitation.

Faith is not merely believing that God can perform miracles. Faith is trusting that God is already at work in the countless ordinary details I can’t see—redirecting conversations, opening unexpected doors, frustrating plans that would ultimately harm me, and weaving together events that only make sense in hindsight.

David never watched God answer his prayer. He simply pressed on. He kept walking. And, somewhere in the background, God was already rearranging the hearts of kings.

As I press on into this, another day on this life journey, I find God’s hashgachah comforting.

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