2 Sam 7 - Ready, Shoot, Aim

“I’m gonna do this Lord, please bless it.” That’s out of order. However, we’ve all been tempted to do it that way. In fact, most of us have probably done things this way more than the other way. Maybe accidentally and we realized it later. Maybe it was intentional, whether consciously or subconsciously. Either way we tend to get our Spiritual cart before our Spiritual horse. That’s not good.

“After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."

“Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you." - 1 Samuel 7:1-3

I’ve seen this passage of scripture used out of context a ton. “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it…” It’s similar to the Proverb that says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Our biblical interpretation and personal application is easily influenced by our heart intention. There are a ton of assumptions that aren’t seen in the words themselves, but if we look, the heart is obvious.

What David had in mind was to bring glory to God. What David had in mind was to chase after the very heart of God. What David had in mind was the perspective of an amazing journey that was at the center of God’s will. What David had in mind was only the best for the chosen nation of Israel. It was not about David, it was about God.

We know that directly after this the Lord reveals that it was not His desire that David move forward with the building project. So what was this all about? Once again, it's about the journey, about the willingness of the heart, the perspective of a man dependent upon God's presence, and the willingness to put his plans on hold (if not entirely change them), even plans to please God, when God leads elsewhere.