2 Samuel 7
The last two contributions to the seventh chapter of 2 Samuel dealt with (1) correction and (2) pride/arrogance. My third part is now about humility and gratitude. David has now achieved almost everything and is finally king. Finally God's promise has been fulfilled and he has reached the top. Even the Ark of the Covenant is in Jerusalem. How he would now like to build a temple for his god. But he has to experience that God has other plans. He experiences that he (and Nathan) will be corrected by God. And David accepts this correction. If he weren't the man he is, he might ignore this correction. Because the power he has as king gives him several options.
Instead, David is grateful and humble and submits to God's decision. He feels deep gratitude for the promise God has made to himself and to future generations of the house of David.
And how about ourselves? Are we Christians to be corrected? And who can correct us? Our friends, wife, girlfriend, church leader, boss? And how do we deal with it? Can we accept correction? Are we grateful for it or does resistance automatically spread in us?
There was a time in my own life when I was not only stubborn and unapologetic, but also arrogant and overbearing. I regarded criticism of any kind as a personal attack and did not grant anyone this right. During this time I did not allow myself to be corrected by God. Since God does not appear to us physically, but still speaks to us through people and His Word, the Bible, it is relatively easy for us to block ourselves. I believe that if we don't listen to people, we tend to ignore God. We live in a time where self-actualization and self-determination are big buzzwords and we are influenced by this trend.
From David's response to God's correction we can learn how to deal with correction both in real life and in the spiritual life. First of all, there is the realization that we are on the wrong path. God spoke this correction with both sharpness and love. For me, these two elements do not represent a contradiction. After knowledge came insight. David realized that he had wanted too much and had forgotten to ask God himself. From this insight comes the assumption. And from acceptance, the gratitude and humility to submit to God's will.
Making wrong decisions or wrong intentions is not a mistake. The mistake lies in the fact that we are blocked from criticism and correction.
Let's learn from David how correction should be accepted and be thankful for the people who care enough about us to want to help us walk the right path.
I myself had to recognize that I had taken the wrong path and rejected all well-intentioned advice. And after I repented, I was also able to make the right decisions.
In this respect, too, David is a role model for us.
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