1 Chronicles 17:7-8
Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
Truth: God makes us what He wants us to be and not, we, ourselves.
We live in such a corrupt society. From brith on we are taught to learn, to excel, to advance and to conquer. We are indoctrinated with plausible teachings that we can make something out of ourselves. Young children are taught they can perform because they are smart, athletic, and even because they are beautiful and charming. We are taught to work hard and good things will happen. Study hard and get a degree and that is the path of fortune and fame. Non-believers are more dedicated to these truths than believers, but believing parents teach the same things and then add the addendum, "Do it to the glory of God." In the above text we have God's initial response to David making the statement he is going to build a temple for God ... to take God out of the tent and into a real building. In the preceding chapter David had just returned the Ark to its proper place in the Tabernacle and then went home to bless his house (16:43). Once home, however, he realized that he was living in a nice home and the Ark of God was in a tent. He forgot, however, that this is where God wanted the Ark to be and God, in this chapter, reminds him. In that reminder, God also tells David that he is what he is because God made him the way he was. It is so, so easy for us to clam what little fame we have as something we have done. Yet, God is in the process of making us what He wants us to become. We are to accept that form and fashioning of our lives in humility and in praise. God can bring us low (think of King Nebuchadnezzar suddenly eating grass like a cow), or, He can take a poor shepherd boy and turn him into a giant killer and king! God took twelve disciples who were fishing one day and leading a movement of faith the next. He took a simple tax collector and made him an author of a great Gospel book. He took a muderer and made him the leader of His people (Moses) and He took one and made him the pillar of teaching in the church (Paul). In the above verse God says, "I took you ...". God does that for all of us. He takes us from the place we are and puts us in the place He wants us to be. Rejoice in that thought; worship that truth; in humility rest in that knowledge. You are not a mistake. You are exactly what God is fashioning you to be.
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