The setting in 2 Samuel 7 is this: King David has finally come to a moment in his life that he can rest. He has spent years fighting battle after battle. God has given him victory over the opposing forces time and time again. Now, David wants to do something I think many of us would think about doing at a time like that. It's time to move on to the next big thing. David wants to build God a temple to dwell in. He may have been thinking, "Why slow down now? Let's stay busy with 'the Lord's work'." At least that's probably what I would have said.
However, that was not God's plan. Instead, God put off the building of a temple for David's offspring. Nathan, the prophet at the time, delivers the message to David. The following passage (2 Samuel 7:18-29) details David's prayer after receiving this news from God. The ESV of the Bible calls this "David's Prayer of Gratitude". David goes on and on praising the Lord, recognizing all that He has done. His words reflect an awe of God. David is worshipping his Heavenly Father deeply and passionately. David didn't get what he wanted, but he got what he needed: a stop sign from God. It appears to me that, instead of "getting busy with something else to do", God called David to slow down and rest.
Years ago, I discovered a hobby that I really enjoy: lifting weights. Any weight lifter that knows anything about building muscle will tell you, you don't grow muscle in the gym. You put in the hard work in the gym, but you grow when you rest. If you don't rest, you just tear your body down, and it doesn't have time to repair itself. One workout plan I have followed for a while requires a full week off periodically. It's called "Strategic Deconditioning". Without this crucial rest break, the workout only leads to overtraining (injuries, sickness, and actual LOSS of muscle mass). But after this crucial week off, your body is ready to move to the next phase of training.
David was probably worn down from all the fighting. Although he did not realize it, he needed time to rest, heal, and grow. We all need those periods in our life where we stop for a moment and chill out. I know for me, when I find myself pushing myself harder and harder, I eventually find myself anxious, having a difficult time getting a good night's sleep, and short-tempered. I also find myself isolated from God. And it's not that I am not doing the things typically acclaimed as what a Christian "should be doing". I may be spending my time in my morning devotions, attending church regularly, and participating in the new small group study on Sunday nights, but the busyness of it all detracts from any depth in my personal relationship with Christ. Even seemingly good things can often become more of a chore to mark off of my list than an intimate conversation with God and others.
And so I sometimes find myself struggling, itching to jump forward. I try to recall how disastrous that can be when I do not take a time-out every now and then. I have definitely experienced that before. It's not fun. "Waiting on God" is hard. But as with the story of David in 2 Samuel 7, I can see that "waiting" doesn't necessarily mean twiddling my thumbs. The down-time He gives me is not only healing and relaxing, but it is crucial to my growth. It's crucial to my relationship with God becoming more real to me in a world that screams at me to "STAY BUSY!", all the while robbing me of the relationships with Him and others that really matter.
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