Perfect Trust
2 Samuel 7:27-29 “For You, O Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying ‘I will build Your house’; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. And now O Lord God, You are God and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. Now therefore may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue for ever before You. For You, O Lord God, have spoken; and with Your Blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed for ever.”
Observation: Chapter 7 of 2 Samuel depicts David’s unquestioning trust in the Lord. It begins with His well-intentioned and generous impulse to build a permanent house of God, and initially the prophet Nathan affirms David’s desire. Then God speaks something radically different. God says that instead of David’s building a house for Him, He will instead build a house for David, referring to the dynasty of Kings flowing from David that would ultimately produce King Jesus.
Application: David so trusted what he heard from God that he was settled, content in it. God’s promise was “to” David and “about” David and his lineage, but it was a promise that David knew he would not live to see fulfilled. Yet David’s trust was so complete that he could treat it as something already accomplished. He was so settled in trusting God’s promise as to lay down completely his heart’s dream of being the one to build a physical house for God.
This speaks in a profound way of the need to lay down my own vision for my life, regardless of how much I may feel my path is God-breathed. I will never forget a time, many years ago now, when my wife Cindy and I were dealing with the reality of the major flare-up of her MS. Several men in Austin, Texas, prayed over me regarding “unfulfilled expectations”. As they spoke it was as though floodgates of my soul opened, and all those dreams and expectations I held seemed to be washed away in an on-rushing flood of God’s love.
His provision for me is more than enough. His purposes for my life are exactly right. He is teaching me to be content in Him, and to go to sleep each night, like David, knowing that God will accomplish what He has promised, whether I live to see it or not.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for planting new expectations in my heart-expectations of You and what You will accomplish in me and in the lives of those I love. Have Your way with me, Lord.
