What Matters to God

The other day, my daughter brought me a present. I have gotten cute pictures, crafts or even little wrapped toys, but I wasn’t expecting a cup full of potato bugs. “Oh, wow,” I said with a smile. “Thank you very much!” She was so proud of herself for catching me these new little pets. She had big plans of where we they could sleep, eat and play. All of her plans involved the bugs being inside the house.

Even though I had to redirect this gift to keep the bugs outside (and it certainly wasn’t my idea of a perfect gift), I still loved her heart that desire to bless mine.

In reading 1 Chronicles 17, David decided he was going to build God a house. David’s heart was so overwhelmed with a love to please God that he felt it would be a great idea to build a special place to put the ark of the convenant.

Guess what? The mighty David got it wrong! It wasn’t the perfect will of God for Him to build God a house, the Lord had it in mind for David’s son Solomon to do build it in the future.

God didn’t mock him, get angry with him, despise him or call him a fool. God looked at his heart -- his heart that desired to please Him -- and he blessed David.

1 Chronicles 17: 7-14 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth. ⁹ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹⁰ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.

“‘I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: ¹¹ When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴ I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’”

The passage is encouraging to me and it should encourage you as well. Even if we start to take a step in a direction that isn’t the perfect will of God, if our hearts intent is to please and honor God, he will bless us. He will redirect us if we aren’t headed in the right direction, but he will still bless us for having the right heart!

If you have been seeking direction from the Lord, ask yourself first about the WHY not the what. If what you are setting your heart to do is out of a pure desire to please and serve God, you can’t go wrong! God sees the why, he sees your motives and your heart. He may redirect you into a better plan, but he will not withhold his blessings from his child trying to please him!

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller