But God (1)
David PotterNovember 14th, 2007
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Focus: God’s plans, not our plans
1 Chronicles 28:2-3 (NAS)
I…intended to build…but God said.
The writer of this reading related the following story:
Vincent’s passion for ministry led him to the Belgian coalfields where he preached to miners, tended the injured, fed the hungry and earned a place in the people’s hearts. His church was filled to capacity with those eager to learn about Jesus. But his superiors weren’t happy because Vincent wore cast-offs, lived in a shack and gave his salary to the people. “You look worse than the people you came to teach,” they said. “Wouldn’t Jesus have done the same?” Vincent asked. His bosses disagreed and he was dismissed from the ministry. He was hurt and angry; his only desire had been to build a church that glorified God, so why hadn’t God let it happen? Then one day he watched an old miner struggling beneath a load of coal. Moved by the sight he began to sketch the bowed figure. And although he didn’t realize it at the time, he’d discovered his real calling. The young preacher who was rejected by his denomination eventually became an artist the world will long remember: Vincent van Gogh.
Wow! I never knew Vincent van Gogh was a preacher. The only thing I ever learned about him was that he was a brooding sort that cut off his ear when he was older. How sad it is that stories like this are lost in our culture in all the fame and glory - which of course didn’t come until after his death. Even his biography at his gallery site downplays his ministry.
In any case, the point to be made here is that when God nixes our good plans, it’s time to look around and see how He wants us to respond. It won’t be to brood and complain; instead it begins with being grateful for what we have and what we’ve done already.
David said, “I…intended to build a…home for the ark…But God said… ‘Your son Solomon…shall build My house’” (1Ch 28:2-6 NAS). When God nixed his plans, David immediately followed his “But God” with a “Yet God,” and declared, “Yet God…took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel” (v.4). Instead of complaining about what he didn’t get to do, David rejoiced in how God had already blessed him by promoting him from herding sheep to leading the Israelite nation. Think about it!
- Devotions | Tags: Famous People, God's Plans
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