We humans have a kink in our armor—Self. As God leads us to success in completing the mission He gave us to do while providing all that we needed within and without to do it; we think we should do more! So, in our excitement; we think of more “good” things to accomplish, thinking we will really wow and impress God with bigger and better ways to please Him. But does it become at this point all about God or about us?
Do we stop in our dreaming and imagining to ask God what He wants? This would be the BEST way to honor God! We might plan great and glorious strategies of accomplishments with our first thought being to give back to God what He has so graciously given to us. But we step over the line and out of God’s will when our dreams escalate in ways that bring glory and notoriety to us. “Look what I did, in Jesus Name,” grieves the Holy Spirit of God who lives in us. Daivd is about to learn that lesson! His adviser, Nathan, prophet of God, will stand ready to tell David what God wants. How will David respond?
2 Samuel 7
God’s Promise to David
After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me]; your throne will be established forever.’”
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
David’s Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!
20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.
27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
David plans—God decides. David is submissive to the will of God. David responds to God’s prophecy and direction through Nathan by sitting before the Lord in humble surrender to His will.
How do we respond when our grand plans created in a committee of our church leader peers are changed drastically by our Sovereign God who demonstrates in various ways what HE wants which is always the best for all concerned and truly gives Him glory?
Do we respond with grumbling and complaining;
“But Lord, we created, we dreamed, we imagine and envisioned what you wanted and designed a great plan to achieve it—in your Name for your glory. Lord, we even prayed for you to bless our plans! Why isn’t this pleasing you? Why aren’t you helping us? Why is our dream not your desire?” I hope we readily see the folly of this thinking, at least I pray we do! “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” in this thinking that is full of self. So, how can we avoid this thinking that may begin with good intentions? Consider: If God didn’t tell us then He isn’t in it; therefore it isn’t a blessed activity of God’s will and purpose to achieve it!
Jesus didn’t do anything of significance without first going to His Father, God—Our God! Throughout the gospels the writers report that Jesus left often from the ministry to lost people to get alone to a “solitary place” to sit before God (like David just did) in prayer. Jesus modeled the spiritual discipline of going before God, asking what He wanted him to do before doing it. Jesus often told others it is God who directs Him. “I do only what my father tells me” is a quote from Jesus found in the Gospel of John. Jeus is telling all those around him that His actions and teachings are aligned with God’s will, as he acts only in accordance with what he has been instructed or shown by God, his Father. This statement emphasizes Jesus’ obedience and the divine nature of his mission. How closely aligned to this is our response to Our Father in heaven?
Stop, pause to prayerfully consider; Are we practicing the spiritual discipline of being with God before doing anything for God?
Jesus, pressed by his observant disciples who wanted to be more like Jesus in their prayers, modeled this prayer;
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”—Jesus, Matthew 6:9-13 ESV
Jesus’ prayer of agony in Gethsemane, knowing what He was about to go through to complete God’s mission to save us still prayed— “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”—Jesus, Luke 22:42, NIV
Friends, we must always seek God and His will first, not after our plans have failed but first, asking what God wants us to be and do as HE works in us to accomplish His plan. When we “sit before the Lord” like David; and ultimately like Jesus, God reveals His plan and purpose with a promise—God does what He says He will do! Every. Time.
I loved Paul’s amazing prayer of encouragement for God’s churches:
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever! Amen.”—Paul, Ephesians 3:14-21, NIV
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”. This verse emphasizes God’s ability to do far more than what is asked or even conceived of, highlighting His limitless power and grace. It’s a reminder that when trusting in God, one can expect outcomes exceeding their expectations. So, therefore, if we want to truly be more like Jesus—first pray expectantly like Jesus, asking God what HE wants—it will save us a lot of precious time—time we should spend telling others about Him!
Lord,
Thank you for reminding us that our plans are puny compared to your plan with purpose to save humanity from our sins with the promise of eternal life! God, set my agenda and reveal your purpose for me for today in your plan. May your will be done in all the details of my life—for you are Life to me!
In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 