2 Samuel 7:1-2 “Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.’”

These verses remind us of a very precious truth – that believers can respond to God from a position of strength. We don’t always have respond from a position of weakness, times when we are going through trials and tribulations or the valleys and the storms. We were reminded that God also leads us to the mountain tops and through the calm peaceful seasons of life. But even in those seasons, we can respond to the Lord.

David was going through such a peaceful season of life in 2 Samuel 7. He was living in his new and beautiful palace, and he had no wars to fight because God have given him rest. Yet, even in his comfort and rest, David sought to respond to the Lord, to desire more of God and to do more and greater things for Him. Specifically, David sought to build a house (the temple) for God. This wasn’t something God had called/told him to do. It was purely something David desired to do for the Lord.

And there are many more like David in the bible who responded to God not from a position of weakness, but from a position of strength– Samuel (2 Samuel 3), the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), Lydia (Acts 16), etc. In fact, all the Apostles and Paul continued to respond to God from a position of strength! Over the years, each of them had founded churches and done great things. Yet they continued to remain humble and sensitive to the Lord, always seeking to go deeper and to do more.

Perhaps this might speak to many of us who are leaders. Our walks are generally stable, our lives generally yielded, our ministries are fairly established. Many of us may not be going through a storm in life either. But may this truth challenge us -- we can continue to respond to God from a position of strength. We can always go deeper in our knowledge and understanding of Him, pray for more of His presence in our life, desire to do more and greater things for Him.

Rev. Dr Jeremy-Joe Tan