Today's Passage:  I Chronicles 17-18

Have you ever prayed about something and decided that God wanted you to do something for Him...only to find out His answer is "no"?  You pray, you study, you seek His face and confidently go ahead feeling like you are doing the right thing...only for God to shut the door in your face?   It's a difficult place to be when you feel like you know exactly what God wants (and most of the time, it's a big step of faith) and God tells you to slow down or stop...you begin to question if you really understand what God wants in the first place.

That's exactly where we find David today...seeking God and wanting to move forward with honoring Him by building a permanent temple for the Ark.   It seems like the right thing to do...it seems honoring and almost overlooked by the generations of Israelites before David.  But God's answer is no, not right now.  David was not the guy God wanted to do it (we'll see later that job was reserved for Solomon), even though David's heart was in the right place.

You would think David would be dejected, but I love his response to God:  You know what's right, God!  You know what is best for me, for my family, for the people of Israel.  Even though it makes sense to me, your ways are so much better than my own.  I'll trust in you and even praise your name because you always do what is best for me...even when I don't see it!

The next time God says no, will we have the maturity to praise Him for His wisdom?