2 Chronicles 5

I heard this quip recently: Wanna hear God laugh? Tell Him your plans. I’ve heard that before, and it always makes me chuckle (although I do believe that God wants to hear what’s on our minds). But I think it’s true that we sometimes have our days and weeks planned out so intricately that we forget about God and the plans He has for us. And even if we remember, often we try to somehow fit His plans into the plans we already made for ourselves.

That’s the one thing I loved about this chapter. It laid out in great detail the elaborate pomp and ceremony that Solomon had planned for the opening of the temple in Jerusalem. First, there was a multitude of sacrifices—so many that the number could not be recorded. Then, the priests brought the ark to the temple, and there was music and singing. And then this: "Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God." (vs 13-14)

God’s glory was so great, His presence so intense, that the priests couldn’t even carry out their plans. They had to stop. They had to yield to the presence of God. I think there is a real lesson for us here. It’s not that it’s bad to make plans—Solomon had made a great many plans for the opening of the temple. And it’s not that we shouldn’t carry out our plans—the priests were taking part in what was a glorious celebration, honoring to the Lord.

But the lesson is that when God shows up, we must remember that His plans are paramount. Especially when we sense that there is a conflict between what we had planned and what God has in mind, it is best for us to give way to the Lord and submit to His thoughts and plans. When we do that, we will find that God’s glory shines forth in our lives just as it shone forth in the temple that day.