1 Chronicles 17:15–16: “According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: ‘Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?'”

September 5th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

David wanted to build the temple for God, and the prophet Nathan told him to go for it. But then God spoke to Nathan that David wasn’t to build the temple, that David’s son would be the one to build it. Nathan was a true man of God. He had made a mistake when he told David to build the temple, and he wasn’t afraid to go back and make it right after God corrected him. Nathan and David’s friendship was stretched to the limit, but as we are told in Proverbs 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Nathan bit the bullet, and while he didn’t avoid confrontation, he still chose to speak the truth in love. And so he was able to repair the damage he’d caused.

What do you do when God says no to the things you want to do? Look at how David handled this refusal from God Almighty. It says he went in and sat down quietly before the Lord. That’s the first thing we also need to do when God says no to us. Step one is not to blow up or freak out, but to just sit down before God and thank Him for what He has said yes to.

The second step is almost as important. David remembered who he was before God got a hold of him and simply said, ”Who am I?” He was saying, “God, I know who I was without You, who I am without You, and who I would be in the future without Your hand on my life. You have done it all, God. I accept Your will.” This was a simple but powerful response, one we need to make over and over again in our lives. David was a man after God’s own heart not because he never failed or fell into sin—because he did both—but because when he found he was wrong, he was quick to repent and turn around to do what was right.

“LORD, we want to be people after Your heart today. Give us ears to hear Your conviction of sin and make us quick to repent, turn around, and walk with You again.”