Scripture: He (David) said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you." – 2 Samuel 7:2-3
Observation: David no longer was at war with his enemies, and he realized that the ark of the Lord had no permanent place.
Application: I think there are a lot of life applications here. First, David knew his blessings. His enemies were gone, and he was living in luxury. Instead of wanting more, as many of us do today, his attention was right where it should be: on God. “Why is the ark in a tent while I live in this palace?” he asked. He saw his own blessings, knew where they came from, and wanted to glorify the One who gave them to him.
Also, I notice that David sought advice from God’s prophet to do God’s will. I think that’s really important here. I can remember time after time when I made decisions without praying about them – and how badly they turned out. David knew better, though, and he turned to Nathan for counsel and to make sure he was in God’s will. And what did Nathan say? “The Lord is with you.” How comforting that must have been!
Prayer: God, even in this rough economy, please let us remember exactly how blessed we are. We are free. We can worship You without fear of persecution. We have roofs over our heads, people who love us, and security in knowing that You hold us in Your hands. We are blessed. And, Lord, we thank You for these blessings that we have, and help us to also remember that with You, anything is possible.
5 comments:
love this... love the prayer.
me too.
Mr. Right and I were just talking last night about our blessings. I mentioned that I am confident in the Lord, but I do need to watch and make sure that doesn't turn into an irresponsible arrogance.
"the Lord is with you"...truly comforting words! love this stuff!
What's interesting to me, here, is that Nathan says "Go for it" and yet the Lord said no. While this passage is a reminder that God is with us, it should also be a reminder that we have to truly seek what He wants from us instead of trusting "His man".
Today, some people substitute daily talking and listening to God for hearing the preacher on Sunday-- and this should be an admonition to them to follow hard after God.
beautiful prayer! gave me goose-bumps! He is always there...even when we can feel so small.
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