When God Has Other Plans

"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...And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever..."

"Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: 'Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O Lord God. What more can David say to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant...O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. So let it be established that Your Name may be magnified forever saying, 'The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God...For You, O God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray before You.'"
(1Chronicles 17:1-4,11,12,16-18,20,24)

I know this was an extremely long passage, but I felt very drawn to it. I'm not sure why, but let's explore it. I believe God has a message for someone specifically through this Scripture. I don't know who you are, but the Father does.

David longed to build the temple of God. Through his leadership, the ark of the covenant had been recovered. Worship had been restored. And David, you might say, was in his element. Now, he would build the temple. No longer was it necessary for the Ark to travel through the wilderness.

But God had other plans.

The Spirit of God spoke to David through the prophet Nathan. He told David, in essence, that his son, Solomon, would be the one to build the temple.

Not David.

All of his plans, perhaps yearnings, were taking on a new direction.

How would David respond?

His reaction was one of humility and thanksgiving. He did not display anger or frustration with the Lord. No. He acknowledged the greatness of His God. He acknowledged the sovereignty of His God.

Perhaps David was reminding himself of these things. Hmmm...

It was a very honest dialogue. David shared his heart with the Lord. But then, David rested in the knowledge that God, alone, is God.

And David praised Him.

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

God has purpose as He directs our steps.

Lord, what a beautiful example of obedience and trust You have shown us. Thank You. Thank You for Your patience as we learn to fully rely on You - as we learn to relinquish our will to Yours. I am learning that even when I cannot trace Your hand, I can always trust Your heart.