What does God truly desire from me? What activities do I feel compelled to do for myself, my family, my friends, or God? How may of these self imposed initiatives are truly the desire God has for my life? In 2 Samuel 7 there is a time of rest from war within Israel and David has a desire to build God a permanent Temple. God tells David that he is not the one who will build a temple for the Lord. Was there something wrong with David’s desire to build God a temple to dwell in? What did the people of Israel need most of all at that moment in time? Was a temple imperative for the people of Israel of God? The people of Israel needed a strong leader to shepherd them more than anything else. The people need to learn how to follow God and honor him and that is the task set before David.
After God tells David that he will not be the one to build a temple what were David thoughts? Did he feel confused, fearful, or sad? No matter what David felt it I don’t think it would have lasted very long because God tells of how he will bless David and his descendants. It is both interesting and amazing that there is no qualification that David needs to meet for this blessing to happen. God in His sovereignty was going to bless David. How often do we tell people that we will do something for them if they do another thing first? I am thankful that my faith in Jesus Christ has nothing to do with who I am or my abilitys but my salvation is based wholly upon who God is and what He choose to do. In 2 Samuel 12-16 who is God talking about? Is the scripture foreshadowing Solomon or is God giving David a glimpse into the future when Jesus Christ will deliver mankind?
I love David’s reaction to God’s promised blessing because it is exactly how I would react. If there were something promised to happen in my future I would want some kind of reassurance that it would truly happen. As David prayed to God he knew that it was by God alone that he and Israel were where they were in that moment. It is amazing to see the tender heart of David before God who already knows all the feelings that are going through David’s mind. David finds assurance for his future in who he knows God to be knowing that God always speaks the truth and what He says will never fail to happen.
Your life needs an anchor point where you can place all of your hope and trust. The only place that you can truly anchor your life is in Jesus Christ. God desires us to love Him more than anything in this world and He doesn’t need what we can build for Him, do for Him, or say about Him. Place your faith in the unchangeable truth that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and in that sacrifice you can have hope for for your future.
