Divine Peace

Lord, do as You have said…2 Samuel 7:25

These were the words of King David as he rested peacefully in his home. Nathan the prophet visited David and said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.” Verse 3. However, this was NOT what God wanted David to hear. So, the word of the LORD came to Nathan that night saying, Go and tell My servant David, thus says the LORD: would you build a house for Me to dwell in? Verse 4. God knew what Nathan did not know. David was wanting more than anything to build a grand temple as a house for God. This was not God’s plan.

When men plan what God has not intended, things do not go well. This happens when churches build grand structures they cannot afford or programs they cannot control. God’s Word cannot be cast aside. The Bible is to be read. God did not intend for His inspired words to be dusted from time to time or carried about like an EDC bag. The Bible is for reading. 

When we read His words, we realize His promises are to be believed. Not merely memorized and recited, but functional foundations to our daily existence. God’s promises are the very rock upon which our faith is built. He said it—we believe it—we live it.

It is not enough to merely to say to others, because God said so, if we do not live by His words. We know this. But we forget so easily. Family does not merely want to hear, “I love you.” They want to see our love in action. “Don’t say you love me—show me!”

In like manner, we don’t say, I know God desires good for me; live like it. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29: 11-12