Jumping in With Both Feet

O. T. #690  "Jumping in With Both Feet"
February 8, 2016
2 Samuel 7
"Look," David said, "I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!"  2 Samuel 7:2 NLT

LET IT GLOW

When we get an idea, do I run with it before consulting God about it? Are we quick to act or slow to listen? Many a time I have jumped in with both feet and hit the floor running. I went ahead and did my own thing without asking God about His thought concerning the matter. Boy, do I get myself in trouble. Then with a sheepish grin, I ask for His help. He is so merciful to bale me out of it. If only  would learn to consult Him first. David seemed to have the same tendency.

I wonder if King David and Prophet Nathan were sitting in lounge chairs conversing out on the patio. At any rate, David was settled in the palace now and the Lord had given him peace from all his enemies. It could have been months or years since David had been on the battlefield. We aren't told. There could have been a restlessness in him. Guys seem to need a project to keep them busy. Idleness is the Devil's playground, so it is said.
Maybe the two men were sipping on tea or goat's milk. Anyway, David has an idea, a noble idea.
He says, "Look, I am living in a beautiful palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!"
Nathan replies, "Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you."

Nathan could have been too obliging to the king. The two didn't have a prayer meeting to ask the Lord His opinion on the subject. David has a good heart. He thinks the Lord's house should be better than the king's house, but it wasn't. Sounds good. Although, Nathan approved David's idea before consulting God.
How often do we do that? We hit the floor running in our own direction without consulting God about it.


LET IT GROW

David was careful to consult a priest or prophet before he did something. God had always provided a prophet for His kings to communicate His will to the king. Some did not always follow it, though. God sent dreams, visions, the Urim and Thummim of the priests at that time as His means of reveling His will.

Now, God had given David the role of warrior and king, not builder. It wasn't time to build the Temple until after all the battles were won (2 Chron. 6:7-9).

God was more concerned with building up a spiritual kingdom of people. God did not want a permanent temple to be built until the nation of Israel had conquered the Promised Land and was at rest (1 Chron. 6:31). (D. Jeremiah)

How patient are we to wait upon the Lord to inform us of His will in a particular situation?

That night the Word of the Lord came to Nathan revealing:

• Tell my servant David what the LORD has declared.
• Is he the one to build a house for God to live in?
• God had never lived in a house, even from the time He delivered Israel out of Egypt.
• He had always moved from one place to another dwelling in a tent and Tabernacle.
• He never once complained to the leaders of Israel's' tribes.
• The LORD never asked them why they had not built Him a beautiful house of cedar.
• He took David from tending sheep and selected him to lead His people Israel.
• He had been with David wherever he had gone.
• God destroyed all of David's enemies before his eyes. 

Those are things which God had done for David. Can we list things that God has done for us? Do we share them with others so they are encouraged?

LET IT GO

Stop living by sight and live by faith in my God.

Seek God's will in all matters.

Wait, listen, and patiently wait upon Him.

Thank God for all He has done.