“Then King David rose to his feet and said: ‘Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, “You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.”‘” – 1 Chronicles 28:2-3

Sometimes you can have exciting plans with the best of intentions and it still isn’t God’s will. Your plan can be 100% focused on glorifying God and still not be God’s will. This can be difficult to understand and we don’t always handle the news in the best way. Fortunately, King David experienced this firsthand and the way he handled his disappointment is helpful for the rest of us who love the Lord.

God had done extraordinary things for David, raising him from being a shepherd to the being king of Israel. He’d used David to conquer Israel’s enemies and establish the kingdom in strength. David loved God and God loved David. So, David naturally wanted to do something wonderful for God. He planned to build a beautiful temple in Jerusalem that would be dedicated to the Lord. God hadn’t asked for it, but it was a magnificent idea with the best of intentions.

But it wasn’t God’s will. God said, “No”. God said, “Not now.” And God said, “Not you.” That can be very difficult to handle! When God tell us “No”, “Not now”, or “Not you”, we’re often tempted to just plow forward anyway. That’s a very bad idea which reveals those plans weren’t really about God at all. They were actually about us and what we wanted.

Thankfully, David didn’t plow forward. He accepted God’s answer and did what would best serve God and bless others. He prepared the way for someone else (his son, Solomon) to build the temple. He collected materials. He organized resources. He brought in experts. He blessed the person to whom God said, “Yes”. In that way, David’s plan eventually came to fruition. But not then and not by him.

How well do you handle God’s “No”? His “Not now”? His “Not you”? Are you able to quickly stop charging forward and instead look for ways to bless those to whom God says “Yes”? #FollowJesus

“On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.”
– Psalm 138:3

As we grow and mature in Christ, we gradually realize just how precious and perfect this particular answer to prayers is. We call on the Lord and He answers by strengthening our soul. Strengthening our soul to walk with Him through the valley of the shadow of death. Strengthening our soul to serve Him amidst sorrow and suffering. Strengthening our soul by giving us peace amidst chaos and comfort despite pain. Strengthening our soul by reminding us that He is in us and with us. Strengthening our soul by reminding us that Jesus is our Suffering Savior, Who loves and walks with us, never leaving or forsaking us. Strengthening our soul with His peace and presence.

When we first become aware of the privilege of prayer, we can treat it like a visit to a department store Santa. We make a wish list send it up to God. We then judge God and define our relationship with Him based on whether He does or doesn’t give us the things on our wish list. We can fail to understand that what’s best for our soul isn’t getting everything we ask for, it’s getting a deeper portion of the Lord.

When have you called on the Lord and He strengthened YOUR soul? Give thanks for His answer to your prayers! Do you need to call on God to strengthen your soul today? If so, don’t wait. Call on the Lord. He will increase the strength of your soul. #FollowJesus

“In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.”
– Psalm 95:4-5

As summer unofficially starts this weekend, may you be blessed with opportunities to enjoy God’s creation in the coming months. When you do, be sure to stop and praise God for making the beautiful things of this world. The oceans and beaches. The mountains and lakes. The prairies and rivers. God created it all and He sustains it all. The highest heights and deepest depths rest in His hand. All of it exists because of God’s good will.

Enjoy the wonders of creation. Delight in them. But delight even more in the Creator! When a beautiful scene takes your breath away, let yourself be filled with awe for the Lord. Rejoice that He didn’t just make mountains, He also made you. He doesn’t just sustain oceans, He also sustains you. He doesn’t just know how many blades of grass are in the prairies, He also knows how many hairs are on your head.

The awesome and glorious Creator of the Universe knows you, loves you, and brought you near to Him through His Son, Jesus. Praise Him today and let your experiences in His creation lead you back to praise over and over again. #FollowJesus

“Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” – John 4:50

Early in the earthly ministry of Jesus, there was an official who had some amount of interest and faith in Jesus. The critical question was, how much??? The man’s son was sick and he thought Jesus could help if He’d just come to his house in Capernaum. To evaluate this man’s faith, Jesus didn’t agree to come with him. Jesus simply told him to go back home, trusting that Jesus had already healed the child.

To do that, without arguing, requires far more faith than hunting down the latest miracle worker and asking him to come over and do something. It was a real test to make the multi-day walk back home with nothing to show for your efforts. No Jesus. Just a promise. Nonetheless, the man believed and he went home. His faith was genuine! The next day, while still walking home, he was met by his servants eager to tell him the good news that his son had recovered at the very moment Jesus spoke these words.

Jesus is compassionate, loving, faithful, and powerful. However, He won’t hesitate to test your faith to see if it’s genuine. It doesn’t take much faith to give something a shot when you’re desperate. It takes far more faith to walk away from that last shot with nothing to show for your efforts but a promise. It turns out that official had tremendous faith in Jesus though he had far less evidence to base it on than we have today.

So, what’s your faith like? Is it like the official’s? When you pray to Jesus, can you trust and be at peace when He tells you it’s going to be OK? Or do you continue trying to control His response, even after He’s quietly given you everything you needed? Jesus is trustworthy. Cultivate faith like this official’s. #FollowJesus