Finding Yourself At Home

1 Chronicles 29:17–18 (ESV) I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. 18 O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.

I love this prayer. The people have given to the house of God in David's preparations for Solomon. Now David's prayer for the people is that they might always have a heart for the house of God, to give to it constantly remembering that in this house, something wonderful happens - people meet with the Lord. 

"keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people"

As I began my study of 1 Chronicles I was reminded that this book is about coming out of exile to find ourselves home again, where we belong, in the land of promise with our Father. We explored how we find ourselves only through the record of God's faithfulness. 

But the problem is we aren't faithful. We are like the wandering Israelites. They wandered to Egypt and became slaves. They were saved by God's power and then they wandered through the wilderness doubting Him. They were saved by Judged and then they wandered into covetous desires of the nations around them. God raised up for them a righteous king named David and soon after his death, they wandered again away from God into exile. Yet today David's prayer is still being answered as countless Jews weep and cry for the Temple in Jerusalem to this day. 

And their history is the human story. God gives and God saves and humans keep wandering away. What is our hope?

We need a prayer like this for us. 

What David prays for here in the heart of Israel is the prayer for my heart and yours. That God would always keep this longing for His house in our hearts. That when we wander we would know we are not where we should be and seek our home with Him again. 

I don't know where you are right now. Perhaps you've wandered. And perhaps God has led you here to lead you home. 

The truth is, we have a true and better David at the right-hand side of God the Father interceding for us now and perhaps praying this same prayer over us. 

Romans 8:34 (ESV) Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

And you know His prayers are answered because you know He always prays in accordance with God's will. Hebrews confirms that His prayers work on our behalf to keep our hearts rooted in heaven:

Hebrews 7:25 (ESV) He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

So we close 1 Chronicles with two realities in mind. Yes, we wander. Our sinful nature cannot help but have the upper hand on occasion in our lives. But EVEN TRUER: God brings us back. God has set His King in place to make sure we make it to the end. My trust is NOT in what I have done to be a Christian, but what Christ is doing to keep me in the fold of God. 



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