(2 Sam 7:2 MSG) Before long, the king made himself at home and God gave him peace from all his enemies. Then one day King David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look at this: Here I am, comfortable in a luxurious house of cedar, and the Chest of God sits in a plain tent.”
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.” I like to close out the week with reflective messages and that is what we will do today.
We have watched David grow from a teenage unknown shepherd boy in Bethlehem, to Israel’s national hero, to Israel’s most wanted fugitive, to King of Judah, and eventually to King of Israel. After all the challenges, all the running, and all the fighting, David was 37 years old and he finally had some time to smell the roses. He looked around at the luxurious house of cedar he was living in and he could not help be be thankful. David’s home was undoubtedly beautiful and as he was enjoying it, he did not forget the God he blessed him to have it. David thought about his God and then his mind went to the Ark of the Covenant. While God is everywhere at the same time, our Omnipresent God had also chosen to live above the Ark of the Covenant. So in a sense, wherever David placed the Ark became the home God was living in. And when David thought of the extravagance of his home, compared to the tent the Ark of the Covenant, and God’s presence was living in, he felt convicted. The God who had blessed him — through trials, tribulations, faults, flaws, failures and all — was living in a tent while he was living in a palace and that did not seem right to David. So David decided to make God a beautiful home; a temple.
We will learn next week that David was not allowed to build the temple and his son Solomon would later do it, but who built the temple is not the point. The point is that David, after having some time to reflect on how blessed he was, could not help but want to do something out of gratitude for the God who had done so much for him. David was a King, he had people waiting on him beck and call, and he had servants who were willing to die for him in battle. Men in such positions can easily be tempted to think they made it on their own. But David knew he was not a self-made man. David was a God-made man and he was not ashamed of it.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. God has been better to you than you have been to Him. David became the King of Judah at age 30 and the King of Israel at 37. He made his fair share of mistakes along the way and he was by no means perfect. But God was good to David by grace. Did David exhibit faith in God? Sure he did. Did David stand in faith for his breakthroughs? You better believe it. But no one can say that David only got what he deserved. There were many occasions in David’s life where God’s grace overtook him, in spite of his mistakes, and I am sure the same can be said for you. God has been better to you than you have been to Him. That is true today and it will always be the case, because we serve a Good God who loves us and blesses us by His immeasurable Grace!
2. You are who you are and where you are by the Grace of God. David knew he was not a self-made man. David was a God-made man and he acknowledged the Grace of God on his life. Did David work hard? Yes. Did David fight fierce battles to attain his success? You better believe it. But even then, it was the Grace of God on him. You are who you are by the Grace of God. I am not saying it was all God. I know you contributed to your success along the way. But even then, I am saying that you were able to contribute whatever you contributed, by the Grace of God. You are not a self-made man/woman. You are a God-made man/woman!
3. Show gratitude for God’s grace. When David thought about God’s goodness he could not help but think about ways to express his gratitude towards God. You should do the same. Take a few minutes to acknowledge God’s Grace on your life and how blessed you are. Once you do, the next thought should be “How can I express my gratitude to a God who has been so good to me?” Never cease to give God praise. David later wrote, “From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the LORD is to be praised” (Ps 113:3).
Closing Confession: Father, I take time today to acknowledge Your Grace, mercy, goodness, kindness and blessing on my life. You have been far better to me than I have been to You. You have honored my faith, on those occasions where I stood in faith, but I am thankful that You have not ONLY operated in my life in response to my faith. I have had far too many faith-failures along the way to deserve where I am right now. Not only that, but I have flat-out failed You in more areas than just my faith. And here I am, still alive, still breathing, still walking with You, and still enjoying a blessed life that I do not deserve. Thank You Father for not giving me what I deserved on those occasions where I made bad decisions. And thank You Father for giving me what I did not deserve on the many occasions where You blessed me beyond my capacity to believe. You are a good God, who has blessed me by Grace, and for that I will never cease to give Your praise. I think of Your goodness towards me and I can’t help but want to come up with ways to say THANK YOU. So Father, I declare by faith, that I will express my gratitude to You today and every day, as a symbol of my gratefulness for Your grace on my life. I am not a self-made man/woman. I am a God-made man/woman. I am who I am by the Grace of God. And Father, Your Grace towards me shall not be in vain! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
