Letting Go of Outcomes

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King David wanted to build a house for God. The Ark of God had been returned to Jerusalem, the king had finally settled in his palace, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies. David would be forever grateful for all He had done (2 Samuel 6 & 7).

But the Ark of this Holy and Perfect God who saw a king in David when he was only a boy tending his father’s sheep…was outside in a tent while David sat in his beautiful cedar palace. David’s protective nature was stirred up at the thought. 

Because David loved God, he had the zeal, the desire, and the burden to do something to correct the situation. He had the might and the means to get the job done. But the calling to build God’s temple didn’t belong to David. The Lord let him know through Nathan the prophet that the commission would go to his son Solomon (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

Are You the One to Build a House for Me?

I love God’s response to David’s heart. King David was known as a man of war–leader of his Mighty Men and able to kill 300 warriors in a single battle–but his heart was tender toward the Lord, and he did his best to honor God with his obedience. David couldn’t stand the thought of the Ark of his miraculous God finding outdoor shelter in a common tent.

It was David’s desire to build the temple, but it wasn’t God’s will for David. It was on David’s heart to do it and it came from a good place, but it wasn’t in God’s plan. If he had done it anyway, the work would have been completed in David’s flesh and not by the Spirit of God, which never ends well because 1) the flesh never builds as well as the Spirit, and 2) pride goes before a fall. David’s many victorious battles, all won by the Lord, along with his human flaws and vulnerabilities, would have taught him that God’s way is better.

So instead, God promised to build a house for David and give him a dynasty of kings. It was infinitely more than David ever would have asked for, or could even have imagined. 

Furthermore, the Lord declares that He will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for My name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he will be My son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. 15 But My favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. 16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before Me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’

2 Samuel 7:11-16 NLT

God is Sovereign over All Things

David’s mind was blown that God would do this for him. “Who am I… and what is my family that You have brought me this far? Do You deal with everyone this way? What more can I say to You? You know what Your servant is really like” (2 Samuel 7:18-29). In King David’s humble prayer of thanks to God for the revelation of his eternal legacy, he repeated the phrase “O Sovereign Lord” seven times.

John Piper defines the sovereignty of God this way:

“When we say God is sovereign, we mean he is powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to override all other powers and authorities… Nothing can successfully stop any act or any event or design or purpose that God intends to certainly bring about…” John Piper, Desiring God

It’s taken me a long time to see the sovereignty of God. The Bible says that His plans are the ones that come to pass. Man may plan his way, but it’s the Lord who “directs his steps and establishes them” (Proverbs 16:9). It’s this truth coupled with the following few scriptures that have allowed me to believe that my future is not completely up to me:

• “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” – Proverbs 19:21
  
• “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” – Job 42:2
  
• “All the people of the earth are nothing compared to Him. He does as He pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop Him or say to Him, ‘What do You mean by doing these things?’” – Daniel 4:35

Now, this truth about the Lord, about His sovereignty, must be tempered in our human minds according to His entire Word and not just certain pieces. Otherwise, we might think He chooses to do whatever He wants without purpose or boundary. The Bible says He is not a human being that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). It says He plans ahead to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). It says that if we will know and acknowledge and recognize Him, He will remove obstacles that block our way (Proverbs 3:6).

It says that He is good and His love endures forever (Psalm 136, on repeat).

I always thought His plans would only come to pass in my life if I earned them… if I was good enough, obedient enough, qualified enough. I mean, I definitely have a part to play… and my lack of obedience out of pride will only lead to my downfall… but apart from that, what it really comes down to is this: What has He called me to do, and will I trust Him to get me there?

Will I follow Him as He shows me how?

My Outcomes Belong to the Lord

Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:7 

I recently put my mother in charge of all my flower beds, front yard and back. Her gardens are rich, lovely, and inspiring. She truly has the greenest thumb of anyone I know! 

I went to her not too long ago and said, “Mom, if it’s something you’d like to do, and if it’s not too much of a burden, I’d like for you to be in charge of all my gardens. I’ll pay for everything and I’ll do all the work, but I want you to tell me what to plant, where to plant it, and how to take care of it. I want my garden to look like yours.” 

She was overjoyed. 

She and my sweet step-dad spent a few days planning and scouring gardening centers in preparation for our first big shopping trip. When it came time, my mom led me through each section of the largest garden center, sharing all the possibilities and letting me know her ideas. She shared with me her JOY of gardening and her LOVE of plants, and her joy became mine as we found many exciting options for me to bring home. She then showed me where she would place them and how she would care for them going forward. 

I am well on my way to building a beautiful garden just like my mom’s, and I’m SO excited about it!

This is the Lord’s Heart for Us

Just as I asked my mother to be in charge of my gardens, I have asked the Lord to be in charge of my life. That’s what making Him Lord really means. It means we give up trying to do it on our own… planting the wrong things in the wrong places, always having to start over, never really finding the results we truly desire for our lives. 

It is our Father’s JOY to help us develop our lives according to His beautiful vision, creativity, and expertise. He is an outstanding gardener, bringing fragrance, texture, and pops of color to every situation He touches. 

That’s what He wants to do for us, if we will allow Him to. And in time, our lives will look more and more like His… like the life of Christ… and we will overflow with thankfulness. 

Letting Go of Outcomes

Letting go of outcomes means being okay with whichever direction the Lord decides is best for us simply because He is God. It means giving up worry and striving about the future, over and over again, if necessary, because we know God’s got this. We trust His sovereignty.

Letting go of outcomes means having the desire on our hearts to do something, doing our research, planning our steps, and gathering our building materials… only to willingly pass the entire project to someone else when the Lord says it’s not in His plan for us to do the job. We trust His wisdom.

Letting go of outcomes means praying day and night for our children, asking for God’s direction and His protection over them, speaking the truth in love to them when the right opportunity arises, and then releasing them without fear into God’s capable hands. We trust that He loves them more than we do… and He will take care of everything that concerns them, in Jesus’ name (Psalm 138:8).

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All this talk of Letting Go simply means trusting God with every part of our lives. It’s not easy and we can’t learn it by ourselves. It takes a lot of “God help me do this” prayers… and it takes a lot of choosing to believe the Word over what this life has to say… but God is faithful to help us and to teach us because He loves us.

We let go because we want to trust Him, not necessarily because we already do. That’s all it takes… a simple act of faith and trust… and He does the rest.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Psalm 37:4-6