1 Chronicles 28: Good Intentions

² 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, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’” -1 Chronicles 28:2-3

Some say that good intentions are not enough. David’s life contradicts this statement. He desired to build a temple for the Lord in Jerusalem, yet God said no. Instead, David would make preparations for his son Solomon to build it.

God considered it honorable for David to desire this action, yet kept him from it. Could God continue to operate in this way today? I believe he does. For example, after my work in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, all I could do was think about returning and helping to rebuild. I prayed, dreamed, raised funds, spoke, gave interviews, made calls, sent messages, wrote articles, and much more–yet God has yet to allow me to return.

Why not? Perhaps God wanted my intentions rather than my destination. When I are ready to give up everything to help someone who can do nothing to repay me in return, my attitude is exactly where God desires.

What about you? Don’t be discouraged at what you cannot do. God cares about your good intentions.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.