pIn 2 Samuel 7, David was upset that his own wooden house was fancier than God’s tent-based abode at the time. So he spoke to his in-touch-with-God buddy, Nathan. David pitched him the idea of building a permanent home for God, out of fancier materials. At first, seeing that David really wanted to serve and honour God by building something a bit more enduring than the tabernacle, Nathan said ‘good idea’. But… Ready for the plot twist? God woke Nathan up with news that He didn’t want that right now. That it wasn’t quite time. Through Nathan, God lovingly told David that He didn’t want a new shiny house, but that, in fact, He was going to give David a house (as in, a huge line of descendants… eventually including Jesus. Wow).br /
Humbling, right? It inspired David to say, ‘Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?’ (v. 18 NKJV), because he was totally floored by God’s response. We feel kinda the same. Really, though, who are we-humans that God would choose us? It’s amazing that God sees our hearts, loves our love, and then blesses us whether we’re ‘building’ for Him or not. He’s not a God of transactions, of ‘you do good, you get the perks’. Nope. He’s a God of outrageous generosity. And even when we miss the mark, when our good intentions lead us astray, He’s still patiently, lovingly pulling us back on track. He’s still making us a part of His plan./p
pem strongWhat Now? /strong/em br /
Give someone something that they don’t deserve. Help out the last person that really annoyed you. Then spend 30 minutes before bed praying for them./p