There are people in life who are trying their best to do good things. Nay, I say Godly things.
It doesn’t always matter what the good thing is, as long as it is holy, worthy, or acceptable to God, we do it without a second thought.
It is a good thing! How could it not be what God wants us to do? Our pastor asked us to do it! Shouldn’t we be willing to help God’s church? My church needs it! How can I not help His people?
We are willing to say yes! We are willing to do the hard work that no one else wants or notices to do.
We desire to do great and amazing things for God so that whatever idea pops into our heads or what Christian friends or leaders ask us to do, we embrace it and run with it.
We want to give our all to God. We want to sacrifice our mortal selves on the altar for eternal rewards.
We want to get to heaven and hear God say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)
But sometimes we let God and His plans and His desires get pushed back in the voices and ideas that come to us or from us.
We create our own plans of what we think He wants us to do. We don’t realize it, but sometimes we take what we’ve learned from our culture or church and we add it to what we think God has planned for us.
We hear God’s words before He even begins to speak. We have a thought that might not have come from Him at all.
But unless we ask Him, we won’t know that maybe, just maybe, it isn’t His will for us to do that good thing at all.
David’s Good Thing
In I Chronicles 17 we see an example of a good thing that a great person of faith wants to do for God.
David looks around at His palace and says, “Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remains under curtains.”
First, David saw a need for God. God’s presence with Israel was under a cloth, while David lived in a mansion of gold and pillars.
David loved God. He saw God as His protector and savior. God had blessed him in so many ways and yet this was the way He was treated? Worse than the king of Israel?
David was humble enough to know that God deserved so much more honor. A place to dwell in that was even more glorious and beautiful than any man has lived in.
Second, he spoke to a fellow great man of faith to seek advice on his good thought for God’s work. David spoke those words to a prophet named Nathan. Someone used of God and whose heart was right with God and had the same desire to do His will. And Nathan says, “Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.”
What a good thing that they should do! Build a house for God. One worthy of His name! Surely God would be for this, surely He would bless this endeavor! Of course, this would receive His stamp of approval.
But you’ll notice something.
Neither of them ASKED GOD.
They did not go to Him in prayer. They did not ask what His thoughts were. All they had to do was take a couple of seconds to ask Him what He thought of that good idea and if they should act on it. If that was in fact what He wanted them to do.
They were content with their own thoughts and ideas of what was good, acceptable, and necessary. They were stuck on the good part of it and didn’t look for the divine will of it.
So they both went to their homes, thinking of the plans they’d have for God’s house.
God’s Changes Direction
That same night God came to Nathan in a vision and said, “Go, and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:”
God is essentially saying, “Thanks, but no. I don’t want you to do it so don’t do it for me and in my name.”
God calls David His servant, not as a derogatory or mean way. God is recognizing David’s heart. He sees that David is trying to do something great for his Lord.
And because of this recognition and appreciation, God is merciful and quickly tells them not to do it.
He could have waited until they asked Him specifically. He could have waited until they noticed His blessing wasn’t there. He could have allowed them to do the good work until they were heavily invested and had used much time and energy to build the project. Only to realize down the road that this wasn’t what God wanted.
That realization is so much harder for Christians to understand, hear, and accept the deeper they are into doing “God’s work”. Many people have witnessed the ministry growing, the members joining, the marketing working, and the popularity of the good work. You are seen as someone divinely appointed to do this by God. How embarrassing to say His opinion was not asked for.
It is hard to “save face” after that. Why? Because we either have to keep doing the good work so no one knows that we don’t have God’s blessing or we have to completely change direction and stop what we are doing.
It will feel shameful and embarrassing. You will feel like a fraud and a liar. People might lose respect for you. They might leave your ministry; they might reject you as a friend.
But it is always better to admit the truth, search for God’s will, and change direction towards that.
No matter how far we have strayed, God would always rather have us come back to Him than knowingly keep walking away from Him.
Unfortunately, many Christians choose to never search for God’s will and just keep doing good works or the ministry they created.
But once that becomes your goal, you not only don’t have God’s blessing, you are actively doing it for yourself and not for God, but IN HIS NAME. That is a place that a Christian should fear to go. That is the place where Satan easily penetrates and destroys your good project into something that will hurt God and His will.
Thankfully, God spoke with David and Nathan before it could get this far.
In I Chronicles 17:5-6 God continues to speak, “For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?
God is saying, “I don’t care! I am not concerned over the same things you are. I have been in a tent for a very long time. Did I ever speak to any of my servants in the faith that I desired a house? It is not something that bothers me.
God is letting David and Nathan know that this thought was not from God. It was not a sinful thought or something sent from Satan. But it was not God’s desire. It was not His plan. And I’m sure God knew down the road that it was something Satan could use for evil if not nipped in the bud early.
God’s Will For David
God continues talking to Nathan in I Chronicles 17. He reiterates, “Tell this to my servant David.”
And this is where God lovingly tells David what His will was for His life.
- God took that lowly shepherd boy, who was of no importance to his culture and planned to make him the leader and ruler over His people, Israel. And He did that. Because David was following God’s leading and doing what he knew was morally right and rejecting the wrong.
- God was with him no matter where David went. While he was in the wilderness fighting for his life, on the battlefield fighting God’s enemies, by the stream healing and relaxing-God was there! And He was there because David chose to be in constant communion with Him.
- God used him to defeat the enemies of God and punish the children of wickedness.
- God used David to lead Israel in the path of righteousness, to plant them on the soil of the earth and in the faith of their heavenly father. His great name showed them his great God.
God is showing David that he has already done so much for Him. God’s plan for His life has been fulfilled. Is his life and journey over with God now? Is God just telling him to retire and do whatever he wants?
Not necessarily, but God is saying that this is not what he has asked David to do. I do believe that God is saying David has done plenty. He has done enough. He has done everything that God has asked of him.
There are seasons where we do, and there are seasons where we be.
David has fulfilled God’s calling for His life. He did the work. Now God wants him to be a good person, a good leader, a good father, and settle into the kingship that God has asked him to govern.
That is a full-time job in and of itself and that is what God wants us to do.
I am currently in the “season of be”. My life has become more than I can handle most days as a mother, wife, Christian, individual, friend, etc… And right now, God has asked me to stop doing so much. He just wants me to be good in the positions he has placed me in.
Look into your life and see what season you are in and if that’s where you should be. Eventually, I believe I will have a balance between the two. I will be doing work while being a good person. But I will have to wait and see what God’s plan is for my future.
God’s Plan For That Good Thought
God does something special here for David. He shows him the future. He shows him the plan for that thought of David’s and God’s willingness to make it a reality for him.
God doesn’t disregard our desires for goodness. He says it’s not necessary, but he might still be willing to give us the desires of our hearts.
God tells David that when it is his time to die and be with the fathers of Israel, He will raise up one of his sons to uphold his kingdom, his home, and his throne forever.
He tells David that this son of his will have a close relationship with God. That God’s mercy will never be taken away from him as it was to King Saul before him.
David’s family would always have a special bond with God and a leadership position over Israel, even if it is only one person. That bond would not break forevermore.
It was God’s will that David’s son would build the house of God. It was God’s plan for it to be accomplished at a specific time and with a specific person. David could rest easy. It would be done and it would be glorious. And it would be through his lineage.
Do We Follow Our Good Thoughts Or God?
I have spent my life doing many good things. I have seen many needs and done my very best to help souls be saved, God’s church to prosper and God’s will to be done.
I have done it with the right motivation and a willing spirit. I have done it with all the strength in my body and energy in my soul.
But I didn’t always ask God if that was what He wanted me to do. I didn’t ask if that was His will for my life.
It’s hard because all of the things I did I knew God saw the value of it being done and honorable and righteous in his sight.
- I was always taught to see a need and do it.
- Make a plan and go for it.
- You sow what you reap and as long as you are doing work for God He will bless you.
- God’s church is there to do God’s work, help the church and you are helping God.
- Christians need each other.
- You need to be the type of Christian that you want others to be to you.
- If you get knocked down, get back up.
- Work hard now because you can rest when you’re dead.
- You are only given one life to live so everything you do, do for God.
- If you’re not suffering for God, are you sure you’re doing his work and not Satan’s?
I could go on and on and on.
And are they necessarily wrong?
No. God does bless the ant that works hard to store up its food for the winter. God does say that we will suffer for our faith in Him. God does say that what we do here on earth will be reaped in our life in eternity. God does want us to be close with fellow believers. We are only given one life to live. We are to do all for the glory of God.
Where I feel we get lost is we read the scriptures and we think God is going to fulfill every single verse in our life the exact same way as others. We are all different in God’s eyes, and He has a different plan for each of us.
God has called some people to suffer more greatly than others. God’s will is for some Christians to do more laborious work than other Christians. God does not call every man to be a pastor, but instead His servant. God doesn’t want us to suffer for the church’s sake, but to suffer for Him and His gospel.
God’s Word shows us very specific thoughts but is written in a way that will help us in our current culture, in our current stage of life, and in our current walk with Him. It is timeless and beautiful. But if we are only following the words the verses say without talking to God, we are missing half the answer.
For example, God says to go out and teach all nations. But what does that look like for you? Has God called you to be a missionary? An evangelist? A secretary? An engineer? God doesn’t tell you what nation or how to do it. So we must know His will first or we won’t know the answers to how to do this command.
We have to look for His will for every area of life, or we will realize one day that we have gone the wrong way. We started on the good path, and somehow down the road, it ended in sorrow and pain.
What Happens When You Are Not In God’s Will?
This question hits very close to home for me.
There was a time when I felt God leading and we did many good things together which I was greatly blessed for. But as time went on, I believe His will changed for my life away from what I had been doing.
I loved what I had done. It was a wonderful ministry that was helping people and doing God’s Work. It honestly never even entered my brain that at some point God wouldn’t want me to do this.
But my focus shifted. It wasn’t that God asked me to do it. Other people asked me to do it. I felt I needed to do it to be right with God. I felt like it was my escape from having to deal with the trouble and pains I was having with motherhood.
There was a lack of boundaries, balance, understanding of seasons, and the way God works. I felt if I stopped then the whole ministry would crumble and fall because there was no one else willing.
But it was no longer about doing God’s will as much as it was about me.
In the beginning, I knew I was right with God. But once I kept doing the work, when God gave me permission to stop and do something else, Satan was able to come in.
But I was so focused, so engrossed, so settled and invested in those good things that I stopped asking God what He wanted me to do. I really thought I was doing it. I was blind to the sin. I was blind to the path changing and growing darker and unpleasant.
Those good things turned into painful things. Satan was able to weasel in and cause resentment, loss of friendships and support, and soul-piercing agony. I got to the point where I didn’t know who I was anymore, what I believed, or how to fix it. I felt lied to, used, abused, and thrown by the wayside when I became inconvenient.
I am admitting that, yes, I wasn’t doing God’s will for my life anymore. But I was also sinned against and hurt by others that were not feeling God’s leading and asking what He wanted as well.
But God is good. Satan meant it to break me, and God allowed it to strengthen me. I never once turned away from God. I knew it wasn’t His fault. I knew turning away from Him wouldn’t make my life better.
He held me in the safety of His hand while Satan oppressed me and, at times, used Christians to try to get me to leave the faith. Satan knows exactly what to do and has people say to hurt you. He has been around since Adam and Eve. He knows your nature more than you know yourself and he knows when you’re vulnerable and that is when he strikes with all the force that he can.
Recognize those moments. The only thing that matters during that time is staying close to God, praying, and reading the Bible. Those are surviving moments, not thriving ones.
But with every attack and lie Satan threw my way, God used it to show me something. Pain from my past that I had to heal from. A misunderstanding of the faith that I had been taught. Problems within church culture that are not being dealt with.
He opened my eyes to things I hadn’t noticed before. He helped me relate and sympathize with people also hurting. He walked with me, at my own pace, as we progressed little by little.
Before I felt as if I was in a deep well, unable to get out. There was no footing to grab hold of and the mud was so slippery I couldn’t move. I was stuck and drowning.
But as Satan brought down the rain, God showed me the root to hold. As Satan made the water rise, God gave me the strength to push up towards a rock.
And yes, I would slip at times back into the well. It’s like the saying, “One step forward and two steps back”.
I would get farther in faith and that’s when Satan would shoot his darts. But God brought people into my life at the same time Satan did. None of these Christians had any idea what their words meant to me, good or bad. But I knew. And they also helped me to heal.
The greatest thing that I learned was we as Christians need to listen first. You don’t diagnose a problem by a short conversation. It takes time, research, investment, and it takes love.
Because honestly, there’s usually not just one problem. There are many intermixed that come in all shapes and sizes. There is not one verse that will heal everyone. There is not one catchphrase that will make someone’s day better.
Have a relationship, have many conversations, and work through the layers of hardships, pain, sin, and abuse as they come.
Listen. Use common sense. Turn to God for answers and pray for healing. You cannot heal them, only God can. But God can use you to do His will.
And if you have no one else you can trust or talk to or encourage you in the faith, there will always be God.
Come to Him and He will get you out of the well. He will put you on solid ground. He will help you not only survive but begin to thrive as well.
Don’t just do good. Do His will that He has planned for your life since you were conceived. You may be hurt in the process. You may be abused. But if you are in His will and asking for His guidance, you will not go astray off the path.
Doing good does not equal doing God’s will. Taking one day at a time, each season as it comes, and every decision and thought to His feet is what will cause us to thrive.
Live for Him and His plan for your life. Nothing else will bring you such joy and peace as this.
