“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord…” (2 Samuel 7:8 NIV)
Be Still. So much of this year has been about learning to sit still in God’s company.
Saul was dead. David was king. The nation of Israel had finally unified and the king could at last lay down his sword and rule in peace. A great mind like David did not gear down quickly, though. Instead, he came up with a grand scheme to build a house for God.
God shut down David’s idea almost immediately. And remarkably, David’s response to the injunction was stillness. He sat before the Lord and considered his personal story from God’s perspective. The reader is moved by his humility.
We look at David’s family and we can see how God is playing the long game with humanity. We are thinking about tomorrow and He is thinking about twenty or forty years from now. David wanted to do something great for God, God wanted to do something greater than David. David was thinking immediately and God was thinking generationally.
So God asked David to slow his roll and trust the process. David responded in obedience and the results were tremendous. David’s slow and steady accumulation of assets and associations wound up setting his son, Solomon, up for incredible success. Solomon’s Temple would be a wonder of the ancient world because David sought to do it God’s way instead of his way.
David understood God’s sovereignty and delighted in His favor. He trusted God’s timetable over his own agenda. He was willing to slow his soul to the speed of the three-mile-an-hour God and thus accomplished something so much bigger than himself.
What can we gain from David’s narrative today? We can adapt a generational mindset: God is after the hearts and lives of our kids and our kids’ kids. We cooperate with His generational agenda when we sit in His presence and move at His pace. We don’t have to accomplish it all today, we just need to be faithful to the next right thing, no matter how small or slow-going it seems. We trust God’s sovereignty and His unconditional love for our family. We stay faithful even when we don’t yet see results.
“Who am I, sovereign Lord, what is my family, that You have brought me this far? And if this is not enough in Your sight, You have also spoken about the future of this house of Your servant — and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!” (2 Samuel 7:18-19 NIV)
God is looking far past today and into eternity. It is good that we learn to trust His sight and follow His lead. He only takes us places that further His purposes, and His purposes are always ever for His people.
“David let himself be stopped by God.”
(Eugene Peterson)
Lord, help us slow down today to sit at Your feet. Let me perceive Your ‘no’ as a ‘yes’ to something far bigger. Right now, we acknowledge that Your view is long and clear while ours is close and cloudy. The vision-impaired move at the speed of their aid, so will we. Help us to hear Your voice and adjust to Your pace, good and faithful far-sighted God. Amen.