1Kings 8:17-19 And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.
Solomon has built the temple. As he blesses it he reminds everyone that building the temple was in his dad’s heart. There are several lessons for all of us in this verse.
What is your heart can please or displease the Lord! Notice that God was pleased with David for wanting to build Him a temple. It was a good thing that David would think like that. Did you know that He knows what is in your heart and what your real desires are? Did you know that He is weighing what you have in your heart to see if it pleases Him or not? Maybe we should be more careful what we fill our heart with.
Having the right thing in your heart can please the Lord! If I know that it is not just my actions but even my thoughts that can please the Lord then I should learn that the real battle is not over what I do but over what I think about. What consumes your thoughts? How much time do you spend thinking about God pleasing things? Do you plan to do things for Him? Do you desire to honor and glorify Him and seek ways to do so?
God does not always allow you to do what is in your heart! God was pleased with David’s thoughts but did not allow him to do it. They is a little disturbing. You can have good thoughts, good motives, and great desires and yet God decide not to use you to accomplish what is in your heart. That places the importance in what you are thinking about and planning for. Maybe it will not work out but obviously in this story God was pleased with David’s thoughts.
Now comes the question for you. Maybe God will never allow you to do anything big for Him. Maybe you will never be the big preacher, see thousands saved, write the books, do the ministry but what you have in your heart might just be very pleasing to Him.
Do you seek self serving, self pleasing things or do righteous, holy, God glorifying thoughts fill your mind?