Articles
God Is With You! Or Is He?
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Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains." Then Nathan said to David, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you." But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in.' " (1 Chron. 17:1-4)
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David was embarrassed to be living in a royal palace while God's ark resided in a tattered old tent. This would not do. God deserved the best. How better to resolve the problem than to build a beautiful temple in his new capital, Jerusalem, to represent God's presence among His people?
David's intentions were entirely honorable. He wanted to glorify God in a world that knew so little of Him. David's close friend, the prophet Nathan, was excited by the idea and gave his endorsement: "God is with you!" That was the green light David needed to proceed with his project.
Of course, there was a problem with this grand plan: no one had bothered to consult God. As it turned out, God desired a temple, but He did not want David to build it. Nathan's enthusiasm had outrun his wisdom, and he had spoken out of turn. God had to gently correct both men. It would be left to David's son, Solomon, to build the temple.
How often do we embark on grand adventures with the same good intentions and enthusiasm that David had? We may even have friends and spiritual leaders reassure us, "God is with you" in this enterprise. But if we do not bother to consult God's word--the only source of divine guidance available to us--we could be setting ourselves up for trouble. Historically, churches have let their heart-felt enthusiasm for "great works" override their respect for God's will, and created monsters that inflicted terrible damage on Christianity's reputation. All because God's opinion was ignored in pursuit of human inventions.
It is good that we get excited about doing great things for God. But before we launch off on our grand schemes, we need to do our homework first, and determine if our thinking aligns with God's. In the end, His will is the only one that matters.
--David
