Have you ever taken over something? Anything, really. When you’re not the one to start something, there are usually things (or everything) that you want to change. You want to do it your way! Who cares how the last person did it? The job is now yours!

If you surround and attack a city for a long time, trying to capture it, do not destroy its trees with an axe. You can eat the fruit from the trees, but do not cut them down. These trees are not the enemy, so don’t make war against them. But you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build devices to attack the city walls, until the city is captured.

Deuteronomy 20:19-20 (NCV)

What do war and trees have to do with a takeover? Nothing and everything.

When you take over and want to change everything right away, stop. Take the time to go over the way things have been done. Learn why they’ve been done that way. Whether it’s a new job, an area in ministry, a church or a small task, the person who came before you most likely had a reason for doing things a certain way.

When we plow ahead with our own ideas, we run the risk of losing things of importance. Like God warning Israel not to cut down the trees that could sustain them, take the time to find out what sustains the process. Try to abstain from grabbing your axe first thing and clumsily clearing the way for your own way. In an effort to get things just so, you may destroy the very thing that could have helped you the most.

Daily Bible reading: Deuteronomy 20-22, Mark 14:26-50