The Good vs. The Best

The Good vs. The Best                                           

Do you know the difference between what’s good and what’s best?

I drew a beautiful home design for our family. The layout was great and it had lots of windows. My parents were excited about the prospects of our building our new home on the hill above theirs.

The big obstacle was heightened interest rates at that time. The idea of selling our current house and building a new one just wasn’t practical. After prayer and counting the costs, we decided to hold off on such a project.

A few years later, my husband and I decided that the time had come for me to leave teaching and embark on a new career. After much prayer and preparation, I was ready to launch my own log home business, representing a company owned by friends.

The hill behind my parents was not a preferred location for our new log home. God had a plan greater than our own and we found land which better suited our needs and was only about a quarter of a mile from my parents. Then to add to the beauty of our story, when our son retired from the military a few years later, he and his wife built a home on that hill above my parents’ which, of course, thrilled my folks.   

Photo by Connie Wohlford

King David wanted to embark on a grand building project. He yearned to build a magnificent house for God. A man after God’s own heart, he loved his Heavenly Father deeply and wanted to honor Him in a grandiose way. 

We find the account in 2 Samuel 7. David said to Nathan the prophet, “’See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent and curtains’

“Then Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you’” (2 Samuel 7:2b-3 NKJV*).

Without inquiring of the Lord, Nathan responded prematurely to David. The idea sounded great and Nathan basically said, “Sure. Go for it.” But this was out of God’s plan and He set Nathan straight that very night.

“But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, ‘Go and tell My servant, David, “Thus says the LORD: would you build a house for Me to dwell in?’” (2 Samuel 7:5). He went on to tell him that He had moved about in a tent all along and had never asked David to build Him a house.

Then God made a covenant with David, moving from the good to the best.

“Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘I took you out from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.

“’Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.

“’When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever’” (verses 8-13).

The covenant blessing continues through verse 16, ending with, “’Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Awestruck and overwhelmed with gratitude, David sat before the Lord and said, “’ Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. … Fort there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

“’And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods?

“’For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God. …

“’So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, “The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel. And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. … Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever”’” (2 Samuel 7:18b-29).

Here God made an eternal covenant with David, that his seed would be on the throne of God’s people forever. Centuries before, prophets had proclaimed that Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. David was from the tribe of Judah and twenty-eight generations later after him, Jesus took His seat on the eternal throne at the right hand of Father God.

Ultimately, David’s son, Solomon, built a magnificent temple—the dwelling place for God. This was God’s plan, not the plan of a man.

Let’s be assured that God knows best in all situations. He knows what lays ahead, down every path, and around every bend. When he steps in with correction, whether redirecting or plan or helping us come to repentance for a sin, we can be confident that it’s because of His unfailing love for us, He always has our best interest in His mind and in His heart.

Like David, when God corrects us, lets worship Him and extol His greatness. 

Let’s pray: Father God, thank You, that You always know what’s best for me and that You love me so much You’re willing to step in and correct me when needed. I love You and am forever grateful. In Jesus wondrous name—Amen.

In comments below, feel free to share about a time when God corrected or redirected you.

*All Bible quotes are taken from the New King James Version.

©Copyright 2020 Connie Wohlford