2 Samuel 7:28 “O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.”

Nathan had built up a track record with David, and David trusted that he accurately heard and reported what God was saying. The first half of this chapter is a pretty magnificent prophecy of blessing, not just of David himself but of his descendants, and David was blown out of the water. He went before the Lord, probably in the tent he had recently put up to house the Ark of the Covenant, (chapter 6) and prayed this formal prayer. My guess is that since he had assigned people to praise God in that tent 24/7, there were people around him who recorded this prayer. Between the prophecy and the prayer in response, it probably seemed to those around David, and even to David himself, that he had reached some pinnacle of perfection/holiness, and that was very dangerous. He indeed did many good things after this, but he fell into the trap of presuming on God’s approval of anything he did, and that led to his massive sin with Bathsheba and Uriah (chapter 11) and near disaster with his own children. We humans can be very blind and stupid! When God blesses us we think we somehow earned or deserved those blessings, and when bad things happen to us we think we are hopeless and worthless, and neither of those things are true. As Paul famously recognized, we are never perfect in this life, (Philippians 3:12-14) but at the same time we are never beyond the reach of God. All that is required is humble obedience, but that is indeed required. Authentic humility recognizes that every good thing we have is by the grace of God, but it also recognizes that God is big enough to use even us and our circumstances for His glory. The bigger God is in our mind and heart, the more available we will be to Him for His purposes.

This hits me squarely between the eyes. I started off with a rather full basket of abilities, but I have failed to be diligent in seeking God for how He would have me apply them for His purposes. That doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything good, it means that the good things have been almost accidental, rather than by my submitting myself diligently to do the hard stuff that is often required. This morning, just before waking I was dreaming about writing, and I realized that I have known for most of my life that I had been given a gift for words, but I haven’t been very purposeful in exercising that gift for blessing people and glorifying God. That needs to change! My time every morning of reading the Bible and “praying through my fingers” like this is a blessing and not a burden, but I need to consciously seek how God would have me expand my writing, and also how He would have me get that to those who need to read what I write, so that I won’t be fruitless but fruitful, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this wake-up call, literally. Thank You also for interrupting me with the lady who came by. Thank You that Cathy realized someone was here and came down also, and we were able to minister to her. I pray that Your words through me to her would indeed penetrate and bring her to clear-cut commitment and faith, exploding Your grace in her life beyond her wildest dreams, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!