DO YOU WANT TO BE GREAT?
“Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?”
2 Samuel 7:18
Without question, my favorite Old Testament character is David. Do you remember the first thing God says about him? Before we read one word about David being anointed king or killing Goliath, we read that God calls him “a man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). What a moniker! What a tremendous description God Himself attaches to the life of David. Could there be a higher praise than to be called a man after God’s heart? I can’t think of one.
Without question, David was a godly man and a great king. He was far from perfect, as the Bible clearly reveals, but he really did have a heart for God and a passion to know the Lord and walk with Him.
Of all the wonderful characteristics of David, one thing has always stood out to me. I believe it is a big key to his greatness – David was very humble. Although he was unquestionably THE MAN in Israel… although he was the guy who was handsome, wise, courageous and talented, yet he remained humble and totally dependent on God. He knew all of his success was from the Lord.
THE KEY TO GREATNESS
When David was securely enthroned as king of all Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital city and the ark of God safely in Zion, David was told by Nathan the prophet that his kingdom would endure before God forever. Upon hearing this awesome news, David went before the Lord in prayer. I love the way he begins, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?” (2 Samuel 7:18). In the opening question of his prayer lies the key to greatness. Who am I, O LORD God, that You would do all this for me? As the song so aptly states, “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me a sinner, condemned, unclean.”
Tragically, what so often happens to people who have been greatly blessed is they lose their humility. They lose their sense of wonder and awe and total unworthiness. They lose their sense of “who am I, O LORD God?”
We tend to be much more like King Nebuchadnezzar than King David. King Nebuchadnezzar (his closest friends called him Bucky) said this as he looked over the breath-taking city of Babylon, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). Give me a break, Bucky! You are a nothing, nobody who has been blessed by God.
A woodpecker was pecking on a tree that got struck by lightning and split in half. An hour later he brought two of his woodpecker buddies to the tree and said, “Here it is, guys … a specimen of my work.”
STAY HUMBLE
Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance led to his undoing because “pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18). David’s humility led to an enduring kingdom because a “humble spirit will attain honor” (Proverbs 29:23).
If you want God to continue to bless you and bring you to new heights and make you great, stay humble before the Lord. Never lose the amazement of His goodness and grace upon your life. Wake up each day with these words on your lips, “Who am I, O LORD God, that you have brought me this far?”
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
