Today's reading: 2 Samuel 7; 2 Corinthians 9-10
What a contrast there is between 2 Samuel 6 and 2 Samuel 7!
In both chapters David seeks to do something for the Lord, and in both chapters the Lord stops him, but how he gets stopped could not be more different or instructive for us.
Yesterday, in chapter 6, we saw David try to bring the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem, but doing so in such a way as directly violated the will and instruction of the Lord about the ark, with the result that Uzzah was killed by the Lord in the process. God severely disciplined this group for violating His will.
What about chapter 7? In chapter 7 David sets his mind to building a temple for the Lord. He seeks the counsel of Nathan, a prophet of the Lord, who gives him the thumbs up for it. The Lord then sends Nathan back to stop David, but not only is nobody killed this time, instead God makes David incredible promises both for him and for his house forever. Though David was trying to do something against the Lord's will, there was no disciple, but instead redirection toward what God did have for David.
This is why I say this is instructive for us. I see so many Christians wringing their hands over decisions in front of them, some bigger and some smaller, paralyzed by the fear that they might make the wrong decision and miss God's desire and intention for their lives. On the one hand, this is something we have discussed before, that I don't think God has such a narrow track of what is/isn't in His will for our lives. But on the other hand, and more importantly for us today, look what happens when David sets off on a course that wasn't what God desired for him. God doesn't scold him for making the wrong choice and kick him out of His plan, He leads him to what he desires him to be focusing on instead.
Now let's be clear, this is very different than David's willful disobedience in chapter 6. We aren't talking about making the decision between two choices, one of which is expressly against God's will, and just deciding to go your own way rather than His. No, we are talking about seeking to do something which, to the best of our understanding, is a good and godly choice to be making. Whether that is the choice of whether to join a new church, take on a disciple, get married to a specific person, have children, move to a different city, change jobs, join a new ministry, etc., these kinds of choices are important and impactful and should be approached with prayer and counsel. Very often though, even after praying, and even after seeking counsel, we still find ourselves without a clear answer as to which choice to make. I think it is safe to say that in those cases, God has given you the freedom to choose, and you can make that choice knowing that, just as He did with David in 2 Samuel 7, if God does ultimately want you to take a different direction, He is more than capable of leading you to that. When we step out in faith and with a clear conscience, we don't need to worry that we have just stepped out of His will and are headed to spiritual ruin. If He desires something different for us, and we are faithfully seeking to follow Him, He will not leave us headed in the wrong direction.
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