After King David of Israel was well established as king, he intended to build a house (a temple) for God. But God sent the prophet Nathan to David to give him God’s perspective on the matter of building a house for God.
We read about it in 1 Chr 17:7-8. Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth.
So God reminds David that it was not his achievements that made him great, but God’s grace over his life.
First the Lord elected David to be king when he was a nobody, a shepherd boy, because He saw a pure heart in David. David did not apply for the job and because of his impressive CV got an interview and was offered the job because he was a cut above the rest.
Secondly the Lord tells him that He was with him all the way until now. This means that David’s achievements was not because he was such a wonderful man, but because God’s blessing was on all that he did.
In the third place the Lord tells David that he is not a self made man, (I did it my way) but that God made him a well known and respected king.
God’s ways are surely different from ours. Is 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Another instance where people were elected by the Lord himself for his work, is found in Luk 6:12-13. “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called his disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.”
The first thing I note is that before this big decision Jesus had to make, He spent a night in prayer to hear form His Father about whom to select as His apostles.
Secondly, that there were more than only twelve disciples (followers) of Jesus gathered on this day.
Then from all these disciples the Lord elected twelve and according to Mark 3:14-15 “… that they might be with Him and that He might send them out …” (The word apostle means “a sent one”)
Now the question that comes to my mind is, that if God’s ways are different and higher than our ways, and His standards are different than ours when appointing people for His work, would I have made the cut that day when Jesus appointed twelve?
