A Thought

“When the king (David) was settled in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’ Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.’”  2 Samuel 7:1-3

But the rest of the story goes like this.  The Lord came to Nathan with a word for David which was basically this: “Did I ever ask you to build Me a house?”

Often our intentions are good, even noble, as we seek to do our very best for the Lord and His kingdom.  Too often, however, we are choosing our own paths according to our own will (what we are willing to do) rather than submitting ourselves to the Lord’s path or the Lord’s will (what we might not be willing to do because it is not convenient for us); and we are working according to our own time rather than the Lord’s time (only willing to do as long as it does not interfere with our own personal lives when we have nothing better to do).

Nathan was correct in his basic assessment, “The Lord is with you” (Psalm 89:20), but he missed the mark in the actual timing of what will soon come to pass: the building of the temple.  David was finally given rest from Israel’s enemies, so it would have seemed the time was ripe.  Again, however, this was David’s own sense of timing, and not the Lord’s.

If we are truly servants of the Holy Father, we must be mindful of what may – or may not – be asked of us at any given time.  New programs at church designed to attract new people sounds good as we all desire our churches to grow, but the timing of a program may not be according to what the Lord would ask of us.  And we will not know unless – or until – we ask of Him.

So let us be diligent in asking.  As with every other good gift from Above, the Lord is not going to offer something that will only be wasted by us as we use His gifts only for our own pleasure (while attaching His Holy Name to it).  There is a profound difference in Divine will vs. noble human will.  Just because it seems right to us does not make it right to the Lord.  He will grant to us what He wills when He wills; no sooner, no later.  First, let us pray.

Blessings,

Michael