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The Battle of Wills: God vs. Me


Very recently, I was reading 1 Chronicles, and I stumbled upon a verse that really highlighted the difference between God’s will for our lives and ours. Before I go into a full-blown analysis, here it is:

“King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name…” (1 Chronicles 28: 2-3)

Ouch. What struck me most about these verses was the fact that no one would have thunk it! David wanted to do a beautiful thing for God; out of immense love for Him, he wanted to build a temple in God’s honour – “a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord” and the “footstool of our God”. But get this: AS GREAT AS THE INTENTION WAS, IT WASN’T PART OF GOD’S PLAN – and not even David's amazing heart going to change that! God wanted Solomon to build a temple for Him – not David!

Oftentimes, we tend to believe that because something we’ve chosen to do is sweet, kind, compassionate, thoughtful or honourable, it’s automatically what God wants us to do. But here, God tells David the contrary!

As Christians, – wherever you are in your walk with God – it tends to be a constant battle between our will and God’s. If we’re being totally honest and open, many times you just want to do you own thing – because it makes sense, it seems feasible, and you slightly suspect/subconsciously believe you could kind of, sort of achieve it on your own!

Lots of preachings, Bible verses and conversations have helped me understand that God’s plans for me are far greater and better for me than mine will ever be, but one realisation that really helped me with this struggle (and I believe can transform the way you think about God’s plans for you) is this: God is WAY too powerful, and WAY too in love with you to mess up your life. Take it from me – He knows what He’s doing!

David could have chosen to be bitter about the whole thing, carrying the burden of rejection on his shoulders, but he knew God well enough to know that He had bigger and better things in mind – things far beyond what he could ever imagine. To be honest, God doesn’t need your permission to do anything He so desires, but more than anything, God wants you to trust that He’s got you!



Kunmi x



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