“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
- Albert Einstein
“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.“
- Leviticus 26:12
“Thank you, but I did not ask for that.” - This is a devastating sentence for me to hear. What about you? There have been innumerable times in my friendships and family when I tried to offer something nobody requested or needed. Even with my greatest intentions and purest motives, I cannot prove my mowing of the yard as an action of love to my 4-year-old. He has never, and would never ask me to do that. He longs for something more that ironically requires less out of me. He wants my presence and my attention. I could bring home a heftier paycheck and move my wife into a larger, more extravagant home, but that is not what she longs for most. She aches for me to be near and intentional in our home. There is no replacing our interest, care, and availability for those who long for us most. Perhaps this is why we have an epidemic of young men growing up with the means to succeed who simultaneously lack the relation skillset; Dads provided the cash and the environment, but not always what their children wanted most: the nearness and pursuit of their father.
Of course, this can cut in the exact opposite direction as well. If my sons attempted to do chores (yeah right) to earn an allowance and chip in on the mortgage, I would not accept it. I would respond with the same sentiment: “Thank you, but I did not ask for that. I want you!“ I have no desire for my boys to succeed in order to please me, nor do I long for them to try to provide extra value. This is a profound lesson that David has to come to grips with in our text this week. God has no need for the gifts, words, and sacrifices that David is ready to grit his teeth in order to provide. God wants to be David’s treasure and provider, and He does not hesitate to communicate it clearly. God wants the same thing from you: He does not want your religiosity, He has placed Himself in a position to receive your heart.
Read 2 Samuel 7
1. Close your eyes and picture God saying this sentence to you: “Thank you for what you have tried to offer me, but I did not ask you for that.” What feelings and thoughts bubble to the
surface for you? Why?
2. What is it that you have tried to offer to God? How have you responded when He has not jumped at your offering to give you thanks? Why do you think that was your response?
3. God wants you, and He wants to bless you if you belong to Him, because you are His. What is one thing keeping you from embracing what God wants? What steps are you going to take today to give yourself entirely to God? How do you think He will respond?