Trust or Disappointment

We’ve all been there. “The best laid plans of mice and men…” and all that. An idea
comes to mind and it is mulled over, thought through, refined and, if materials are
needed, inventories are made. The cost is weighed, and everything looks like a go.

Then something happens that stops everything in its tracks. How do we react?

In 2 Samuel 7, we read about David’s plan to build a house for God. He’s so excited
and has made preparations for years, accumulating gold and timber and stones. In his
mind, a grand edifice has been built to honor the God he loves so dearly, and he just
needs to bring it to fruition. He shares his vision with Nathan and Nathan tells him to go ahead and make it happen!

That night, God tells Nathan that David isn’t the man to build the temple, but his son
(Solomon) will be. Nathan is probably reluctant to tell David that his plans will not
happen in his lifetime or by his efforts after all. In other passages, we learn that
because he is a man of bloodshed, he cannot be the builder.

How does David respond? Is he disappointed? Scripture doesn’t tell us how he felt at
that exact moment. It does say,

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am
I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? 
And as if this were not enough in Your sight, Sovereign Lord, You have also
spoken about the future of the house of Your servant—and this
decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human.

“What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, Sovereign Lord.
  For the sake of Your word and according to Your will, You have done this great
thing and made it known to Your servant.

“How great You are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You, and there is no
God but You, as we have heard with our own ears.    And who is like Your people
Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for
Himself, and to make a name for Himself, and to perform great and awesome
wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom
You redeemed from Egypt? You have established Your people Israel as Your
very own forever, and You, Lord, have become their God.

“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise You have made concerning Your
servant and his house. Do as You promised, so that Your name will be great
forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the
house of Your servant David will be established in Your sight.

“Lord Almighty, God of Israel, You have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I
will build a house for You.’ So Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer
to You.  Sovereign Lord, You are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and You
have promised these good things to Your servant.  29  Now be pleased to bless the
house of Your servant, that it may continue forever in Your sight; for You,
Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant
will be blessed forever.”

What came out of David’s mouth was not complaint, not bitterness, not even
disappointment, but pure praise. He trusted God completely and that included God’s
plan. He wanted what God wanted! God honored him by telling him that his son would
be the builder, which must have surely made this daddy proud.

God’s plans are so much greater than ours—His knowledge is infinite, His purposes
divine—and we can easily overlook that in the midst of things being different from what we had planned.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares
the Lord.   “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher
than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” 
Isaiah 55:8-9

I’ve had many disappointments in my lifetime and would have fared much better had I
learned to be like David. Most times as a believer, I could see God’s hand in whatever
the situation was, but not always. I made it hard for me, yet those are times I grew the
most in my walk with Him.

Can we really be disappointed in HIS ways? How much do we trust Him? Do we truly
believe that He has a better plan than we do? David found that out when in God’s
holiness, He did not want a man of war and bloodshed building His house because of
His holiness. The Lord had His reason, regardless of David’s heart to honor Him. God
still blessed him because his heart was in the right place. David believed God’s
promises to bless his descendants and to establish his kingdom forever.

We should stand on the promises we know and trust Him! He is faithful, He is worthy of that trust.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.