Glorifying God

Sunday, June 02, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.”

2 Samuel 7:1–3

Much of David’s reign was filled with battles as Israel became a strong and growing nation under his rule. But one day David reached a point where the immediate battles had been won. When he sat down, David was at a crossroads. How would he spend his time and energy now that victory had been won? Rather than seeking to build a monument to exalt himself, David’s desire was to build a temple that would glorify God. Eventually God would direct David to have Solomon build it instead, and so David devoted the final years of his life to preparing materials for a worthy house for the Ark of the Covenant.

Near the end of his life, David was able to say to the nation of Israel, “Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance” (1 Chronicles 29:2). This life is not about being sure that we are thought well of and remembered by others. It is about being sure that God is glorified in everything that we do. We are meant to be lifting up our wonderful Lord, not trying to exalt ourselves.

Today's Growth Principle: 

The more we seek to bring glory to God, the more He will enable us to do for that great cause.