II Samuel 7:21 For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
What is your greatest ambition in life? Is it something you want to do for yourself or is it something you want to do for God? If I were to ask you, “Is it God’s will that you do something great for Him?” I think our natural response would be an emphatic “yes”! I think almost always our thought is that if it is something good, noble, virtuous, and spiritual, then we should do it.
David was a man who had a great ambition. His ambition was to build a temple for God. David had been anointed and established king over the entire kingdom and he had a large family. Now, II Samuel 7:1-2 says, “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.”
David said, “Look, I am established as king. I have this beautiful palace, and the Ark of God which I have brought back is still living in a tent, in curtains.” Nathan quickly replied to David without much thought because he knew David had a noble ambition. David’s desire to build a temple for the Lord was a good one. So, Nathan responded very quickly, “Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.” But, that very night God told Nathan that David was not going to be the one to build God’s house. David’s son was going to build the temple for God.
This is an amazing thing. David had a great ambition, but it was the wrong one. Sometimes we assume that merely because we are ambitious and we invoke God that what we want is exactly what God wants. That may well be, but God works primarily through obedience, not through ambition. Now don’t misread me here. No one is more ambitious than God. Do you honestly think that you have greater dreams, aspirations, or plans than God does? Do you think that you can see farther than God can? The answer is no and no. God’s plan is both sublime and infinite and it is wonderful that it would include people like you and me.
So, God does not lack for vision, and I believe that God is the One Who gives His people the right kind of ambition, the right kind of vision. However, God works primarily through obedience. If I am obedient to God, my ambitions are not going to be lower; they are going to be higher. David says something wonderful in verse 21, “For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast though done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.” He says, “God, if you want my son to build the temple, then I will be happy with that.”
I wonder today, are you primarily ambitious or obedient? Now, it is not as if you have to have one or the other, it is just that your ambitions are no better than your obedience to God. There are a couple of questions we ought to ask ourselves when we think about our ambitions and obedience.
First, can I accept no? When it comes to God and my ambitions, can I accept no? If God ever says no, He has a better yes. That may sound clichéd, but it is the absolute truth. In fact, God did not say, “No, David, you will not build the temple.” He said, “Your son will build me a temple.” God already had a plan for this. God had thought of this long before David had. This is more about a yes for Solomon than a no for David, though it included both.
Second, can I follow God and not get ahead of Him? How insane that we would ever try to get ahead of an eternal God. There is no point in that. Can I follow and not get ahead of God?
Third, can I see things another way? David was not so stuck on this noble ambition that he could not change gears. Later the Bible tells us about how David’s battles were a set-up for Solomon’s building. David did what David could do. David battled, and when he took spoil, he brought it to the treasury for the building of the temple. He dedicated all the silver and gold unto the Lord.
Fourth, can I be glad if God is the One Who is honored? We often talk about Solomon’s Temple, but it wasn’t Solomon’s idea, it was David’s idea. Only it was not really David’s idea, it was God’s! If I am really tuned in and ambitious for God, then it doesn’t much matter who gets the credit for it down on this earth, does it? So David changed gears and accepted a no, and was glad to do his part, realizing that ultimately it was God’s plan, God’s temple, and for God’s glory.
Remember that ambition is good, but the best ambition is a result of our obedience to God.