What are the Good Times For?
King David Pt.3
2 Samuel 7:1-7      8-16-2009

Summary: God gave David a time of rest. David responded by decided to provide a house for God, but God said, “No, I intend to provide a house for YOU.” God must always be the benefactor. Times of rest are for seeking grace from God in new ways. Do that by 1) focusing on God’s calling, and 2) seeking grace through His Word.

Introduction
Grace in times of rest
Rest is from God
David’s idea – provide for God
Redirecting
Who is the Giver?
Giving that is receiving
Grace through God’s Calling
A Feast
Grace through God’s Word

After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." 3 Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you." 4 That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: 5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' 8 "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. "'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'" 

Introduction
So far in the book of 1 Samuel the pace as been very fast. The narrator has us zooming along through all kinds of events. In just six chapters we have seen numerous wars and murders, assassinations, the rise and fall of Ish-Bosheth, two coronations of David, and all the adventures of capturing Jerusalem and setting up the capital and bringing the Ark there. Those chapters are made up almost entirely of words out of the narrator’s mouth, telling us what happened.
But here in chapter 7 that all changes. Very little happens in this chapter, and the narrator does not really say much. It is almost all dialogue. David speaks, Nathan speaks, God speaks, and then David speaks again – the narrator says almost nothing. When a Bible writer slows down like that the implication is that he is showing us something that is especially important. If your tour guide has been zooming along at 80 mph, but then slows down to 5 mph in one area, that tells you something. This is an area you really need to see. I don’t know how long it will take to get through this chapter, but we are going to keep the speed limit at about 5 to 10 mph so we don’t miss anything important. 

Grace in times of rest
So let’s begin with verse 1. It all started because of a time of rest that the Lord had given David. 

After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." 3 Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."

So the occasion for all this was a time of rest – which was a rare occurrence for David.
What do you do in times of rest? Sometimes your life is a turmoil of crises and problems and emergencies, and other times the Lord gives you a period of rest from all that. And I preach a lot about what to do during those times of crisis, but Scripture also has some things to say about how we are to handle the times of rest. In fact, at least in my case, the times of rest are a greater threat to my faith than the times of trouble. Trouble tends to strengthen faith. It makes your need for God’s grace more obvious, and it puts a desperation in your soul that drives you to seek grace from God no matter what the cost. Trouble drives us to Scripture. It drives us to seek wisdom. It drives us to our knees in prayer. It makes us think about God and about the condition of our own hearts. And it makes us grateful for His deliverance and strengthening.
But times of rest – those are the times when faith tends to fall asleep. You have a paycheck coming in every week, your marriage is OK, kids are OK, job is OK, car is running, no big conflicts with friends or family, no big, gross besetting sin that is creating problems – life is relatively smooth; (some of you hear that description and think, “Oh what I would give for a season of rest like that! If I could just get a break from all this trouble…”).If you could get a break from all the trouble what? What would you do with that time of rest? What would happen to your faith? If the troubles went away would your faith get stronger or weaker?
I can tell you what the answer is for me. Almost inevitably my faith falters in times of rest. When times are easy it is not long before I start to get real interested in sports, or some TV show, or movies. Suddenly leisure becomes real important. Prayers become less frequent and less passionate, and Bible study becomes routine. I am still praying and spending time in the Word, but the earnestness starts to fade. The world starts getting really big in my eyes and seeming really important, and the kingdom of God starts fading and seeming less and less important – and less and less real.
Now, I am not saying that has to happen. Certainly that is not what God wants to happen when He gives us times of rest. And it should not happen. But what should happen? Why does God give us times of rest, and how can we guard our faith in those times? Let’s take a look at what this text teaches about God’s purposes in giving David this period of rest.
Rest is from God
The most obvious thing it teaches is that periods of rest are from God.

1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him…

The passage makes it clear that it is not just a chance happening, and it is not David’s doing – the rest was something that came from God.
That is important for us to remember in the smooth times because our natural attitude is to assume times are good because we have so effectively managed to get our lives in order. We have worked hard, and now we finally have our ducks in a row and all our hard work is paying off. Either that or we don’t really think about it at all. We do not give it any thought. We just expect times to be good. When times are hard, we grumble and complain and worry and panic, but when times are smooth we just adopt an attitude that expects that as a matter of course. We think things should go well all the time, and when they don’t we react as though trouble is an intolerable and unacceptable intrusion into our lives.
Either way, the bottom line is a failure to see the times of rest as a gift of grace from the loving hand of God. And we fail to ask ourselves, “What is the purpose of this period of rest? The norm in this life is tribulation and trouble. So why is God doing this? What purpose does God have in supplying this respite from the warfare?”
At the very least His purpose is for us to enjoy the rest as an expression of His love and kindness to us, so that every moment of it increases our love for Him, right? That is true of all of God’s gifts to us. But is there anything special about this gift in particular? What did David think he should do?
David’s idea – provide for God
1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."

The implication is obvious – David wants to use this time of rest to supply God with a beautiful, spectacular temple, rather than the old tent. From the time of the Exodus out of Egypt God had always dwelt among His people in a tent. And David decides he would like to use this time of rest to build a magnificent temple for the Lord.
Was that a good desire or a bad desire?

1 Kings 8:18 the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart.

It was a good desire. And if God commended David for having something like that in his heart I want to have stuff like that in my heart.
So one good use of times of rest is to find new ways of honoring God that are not as available during times of distress. You cannot build a temple when you are at war. So when the wars are over and David is secure, he wants to seize the opportunity to do something to honor God that he could not do in times of war.
The next time God gives you a rest from trouble, ask yourself, “OK, what can I do to honor God in new, fresh ways – things that I’m not as inclined to do during times of trouble?” If you think along those lines you will likely someday hear God says, “Well done. You did well to have that in your heart.” But what are those things? What ways of honoring God are best carried out in times of rest from trouble? Let’s keep reading.

3 Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."

Nathan is not speaking prophetically there. He is just giving the customary reply of a loyal subject to his king (see 1 Sam.14:7). It is kind of the equivalent of saying, “Yes sire.” So this is not a “Thus saith the Lord.” It is more of a “Sounds good to me. And I’m sure it will be OK with God too.” So David tells Nathan about the idea and Nathan instantly whips out a building permit from his back pocket and hands it to David. It just seems so obvious that this is a good idea. But the next day the Building Authority revokes the permit.
Redirecting
4 That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: 5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?

That is a Hebraism that means, “David, you’re not the one. It was good that you had it in your heart to honor Me, but the answer is no. I don’t want you to build a house for Me.”
Have you ever had God redirect you like that? You are moving along, doing your best to discern God’s guidance, you are sure that He wants you to move in a certain direction, but then suddenly the door slams closed. This happens a lot in relationships. “Lord, is this the man You want me to marry?” You pray for wisdom, pray for guidance, seek wise counsel, ask advice, study the Scriptures, and everything points in one direction – Yes – pursue marriage with this man. And then all of a sudden he breaks it off, and he leaves and falls in love with someone else and marries her, leaving you all alone. What happened? Should you assume you misread God’s guidance?
What if every sign points toward buying this house, and then the deal falls through? Or you are just sure God has called you into missions, and then after four years of training you stand before the mission board and they say, “No, you’re not fit for mission work.” Or you cannot raise the money, or whatever. What are we to make of those times when God redirects us like that? He seems to lead us in one way and then blocks the path so we have to give up on what we were pursuing.
I think God leads us like that because it is the only way for Him to get us to take the circuitous route that He wants us to take. He does not tell you up front that He wants you to get to point C, because it is important that you first go from point A all the way up to a few feet from point B, and then cut over toward point C. And the only way to get you to take that route is to make all indicators point toward point B for now.
So when God redirects you, do not assume you misread His guidance the first time. He may very well be saying, “You did well to have this in your heart. But it’s not what I want for you at this point.” That is exactly what He said to David.
Why? Why can’t David have the honor of building the Temple? If it was good for him to have that in his heart, why was it not good for him to do it? Well, the most well known reason – the one you are probably thinking of right now, is that David was a man of blood. He had shed so much blood that it would not have been fitting for him to build the Temple. But I was a little surprised this week to discover that that is not in 2 Samuel 7. That reason is not revealed until later in Scripture. About a quarter of a century later, when Solomon was about to build the Temple…

1 Chronicles 22:7 David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.”

I do not think that is a punishment. David shed most of that blood because God told him to. It is not that God was punishing him for doing what he was called to do; it was simply that because of what God called him to do he was not suited for this other task. It would not be fitting for a guy like David to build the Temple.
But I am not going to preach about that because that is not the point the writer makes in 2 Samuel7. Nothing is said about David shedding any blood in this chapter. In this chapter God gives a completely different reason. And the reason He gives is absolutely amazing and, if you understand it, life changing. In fact, this might change the whole way you think about the Christian life.

Who is the Giver? 
If you want to get the main message of this chapter all you have to do is compare verse 5 with verse 11.

5 Are you the one to build me a house?

11 the LORD himself will establish a house for you

The summary of 2 Samuel 7 is this: 
David: “I want to build a house for You.” 
God: “No, I will build a house for you”.
“I want to give to You, God.”
“No, I want you to receive from Me.”
That is the emphasis in this chapter.

10 I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own 

11 the LORD himself will establish a house for you

27 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' 

“I want to supply a house for You, God.”
“No, David. I’ll do the giving and I want you to do the receiving.” 
Now, you know how we pastors are always going on and on about how important it is for you to serve in the Church. I am always up here telling you that you need to work hard and be diligent in carrying out your calling. 
Ephesians 4 tells us that we will attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ as each part of the body does its work. So working hard in ministry is very important. So you can imagine how I felt when I first started to realize the main thrust of this chapter.
“Really, God? You want me to preach a whole sermon on ‘Don’t serve God but let Him serve you’?”
At first that sounds like a way to bring a thriving church to a grinding halt.
I actually doubt that will be a problem because of what we will see in a moment, but even if it might be a problem I am willing to take that risk for two reasons. First, because this is what the passage says, and my job is to be faithful to the text above all. And second because the greatest commandment is to love God, and if you are going to love God with all your heart you are going to have to be clear about who the benefactor is and who the beneficiary is between you and God. The benefactor is the giver and supplier, and the beneficiary is the receiver. In your relationship to God, who is the benefactor and who is the beneficiary? Do you give to God or does God give to you? Do you think of the Christian life mostly in terms of serving God? Or is your conception of Christianity that it is mostly a matter of being served by God?
Let me read you a verse that might come as a shock.

Acts 17:25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

It is absurd to think you can give God anything, because He already owns everything. And He needs nothing.
I just cringe when I hear preachers begin a sentence with “God needs…” 
“God needs faithful men to step up and stand in the gap!”
“God needs people who are unashamed to proclaim the truth.”
There is only one proper way to end the sentence if it begins with “God needs…” and that is with the word “nothing!”
He needs nothing, and it is a good thing because what could we possibly give Him if He did need something? If He already owns everything, how can I give Him anything? I would have to first borrow it from Him in order to give it to Him. In Psalm 50 the people were offering animal sacrifices to God (which is exactly what He had commanded them to do), but they were doing it with the wrong attitude. They were thinking they were giving to God, as though He somehow needed their worship.

Psalm 50:9 I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, 10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." 

Verse 16 is crucial. God says, “Do you want to give Me something? OK, give me your neediness. Come to Me for help when you are in trouble. If you want to present an offering don’t present something that is your gift to supply My need. Give thank offerings. Give the gratitude that comes when My grace supplies your need.”
“But isn’t that a self-centered approach?
Not if it is done for the purpose of honoring God.

15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." 

I love the way John Piper illustrates this principle. He says, “If there is a wonderful mountain spring, how do you honor that spring so that it is highly regarded by people? Do you honor it by carrying buckets of water up the hill and dumping them in? No, that would dishonor it because it would make it seem like it was a dry spring. You honor it by drinking deeply from it and taking delight in the wonderful, refreshing water, and then telling people about how wonderful it is. God compares Himself to a spring, and you honor Him by drinking, not by dumping.”

Psalms 116:1-19 1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 

4 I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!" 

8 you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling

12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

I was in trouble, I called on the name of the Lord for help, He delivered me – how can I repay Him? By calling on His name for more help, and lifting up my empty cup for Him to fill. I cannot repay the Lord by giving Him anything because He already owns everything. And I cannot repay Him by serving Him because He does not need anything. So the only way I can repay Him when He gives me some wonderful gift is to hold up my cup and say, “More please.” 
Giving that is receiving 
Now you might be sitting there at this point thinking, “That all sounds great, Darrell, but there’s one problem. If the implication of this text is that David couldn’t build the Temple because God wants to serve us and give to us rather than us serving and giving to Him; if the point is that God wants to always be the generous benefactor with us as the needy beneficiaries rather than us as the generous benefactors and God as the needy beneficiary; then how is it that God called Solomon to build the Temple? If building the temple is a kind of serving God that is wrong, then why was it OK for Solomon and not for David?” Good question. Evidently there is a kind of giving to God that is a receiving from Him. You give to Him and serve Him in such a way that it is a drinking from the spring rather than a dumping into the spring. 
And that brings us back to our original question – what are we to do with times of rest from God? Why does God give them? I believe His purpose in giving them is essentially the same as His purpose for giving trials and trouble. When trouble comes into your life, what do you do? You seek grace from God, right? You pray hard for strength or deliverance or whatever it is you need in the midst of that trial. It drives you to be passionate in seeking hard after God to receive grace from Him. And that is good because grace is the most valuable treasure there is. And getting it from God glorifies Him.
So what about times of rest – what should you do then? I am going to go way out on a limb and suggest the best thing to do in times of rest is to… seek grace from God. If grace is the greatest treasure there is then why would you ever do anything other than seek more of it? The great thing about times of rest is they enable you to seek grace in new, different ways. Instead of the same old forms of grace that you cry out for when you are in trouble, times of rest give you the chance to cry out for other varieties of grace.
When I have the flu I can’t concentrate on much other than praying for healing or strength to endure the suffering. And I have to confess, when I have the flu my prayers are a little on the repetitive side, and not especially deep. When I am in desperate straits financially, prayers for help along that line take up a large percentage of my thoughts. When I have a close relationship that is in the tank – that becomes my focus. When I am stuck in some besetting sin, most of the other areas of my walk with the Lord are neglected while I put all my energy into fighting that one battle.
But when God grants me a season of rest from all that, I am free to pursue all kinds of other forms of grace that I do not even think of when I am in trouble. David had rest, and so he decided he would give God a house. And God said “No, you will not give a house to Me; you will receive a house from Me.” So this section becomes a model for how to receive grace from God in a time of rest. What are the secrets of how God dispenses grace in times of rest? God gives us at least two answers to that question in His opening words to David in verses 4-7. Look again at verse 4.
Grace through God’s Calling

4 That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: 5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?

It is not that it is a bad idea; it is that David is the wrong guy for the task. God did not call him to that task. His intention was to call Solomon to that task.
How can you make sure all your giving to God is a true receiving from God? By only giving and serving in ways God has called you to give and serve. Focus on God’s calling, because what God has called you to do is that area where He wants to dispense His grace to you. Do not bother with something God has not called you to, because there is no grace to be had there.
Notice David did not complain when God told him no. It might have been the greatest dream of his life to be the one to build this temple, and yet not a word of complaint that we know of. In fact, his attitude about it is so good he devotes himself to helping the one who did get the honor – Solomon. David actually ends up being the one who did most of the heavy lifting. He gathers all the materials and does all the organizational work. It is known as Solomon’s temple, but David was the one behind the scenes doing all the hard work.
But when you see service to God as a gift of God’s grace rather than something you are giving to God, you are happy to receive that gift in whatever form God sees fit to give it. How do you respond when God says, “No, I don’t want you to serve Me in that way – I want you to do this other thing instead”? If you get upset and depressed and disappointed or angry or you complain or become envious of those who do get the job you wanted, that shows that you really were more concerned about something other than honoring God. But if your sole desire is to honor God by receiving grace from Him then you will rejoice in whatever form that grace comes.
That is why people who really love the Lord are so consumed with carrying out their calling. Human wisdom pushes me toward doing whatever seems most beneficial or most prestigious or most whatever. But love for God and desire for His grace pushes me to do whatever task He has called me to do, because that is the avenue God has chosen to deliver grace to me at this time.
A Feast
Malachi 1 speaks of serving God in terms of a feast. You have heard me many times from this pulpit warn you against ever serving God while saying “What a burden.” When I carry out the more unpleasant tasks around the house or at work or at school or wherever, and I have a heart attitude that says, “What a drudgery this is” – I show that I am not receiving grace from God through that work. If it is a drudgery why even do it? Is it because I think I am doing God some kind of favor?
The priests in Malachi 1 were doing what God called them to do but they were saying “What a burden” and God told them He would rather they not do the work at all. You do not bring honor to the spring when it is a burden for you to drink from it. But in Malachi 1 the image is not of a spring, but of a feast. God says, “You are sitting at My table and turning up your noses and sniffing contemptuously at the food and saying, “What a burden.” That image portrays the work of ministry – the work God has called you to (whether it be shuffling paperwork at your job, or changing diapers or studying for tests or doing laundry or whatever) – that work is, according to Malachi 1, a feast at God’s table. What is God trying to teach us by using the imagery of a feast? Feasts supply enjoyment and sustenance and pleasure and joy and strength. That is what is available to you through your calling, if you do it with an attitude that seeks grace rather than an attitude that just tries to give service to God as if He needed you to work for Him.
I do not have time to preach a whole sermon on how to discover your calling, but the short answer is this: Take a look at all the opportunities available to you right now, pick the one that best matches your gifts and godly desires, and that is what God is calling you to do right now. Which means that is the avenue that will deliver the most grace from God into your life if you seek it from Him. And so if you treasure God’s grace above all, then there will be nothing in the world you would rather do than that task right now – even if the task is to play second fiddle to your son Solomon. So how do you seek grace from God during a time of rest? Pursue your calling and nothing else.

Grace through God’s Word
The second way we see starting in verse 6.

6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"'

Why would it be a bad idea for David to build a Temple for God? Because God did not tell David to build a Temple. It was good for Solomon to do it and bad for David to do it because God called Solomon to do it and He did not call David to do it. There is no need to do anything in serving God other than what He commands.
I love what John Calvin said about this passage. He is making the point that even a man like David could be wrong about what God is leading him to do. 
“If that happened to such and excellent prophet (David), what might it be with us who are not nearly so advanced in the knowledge of the truth of God? … Whenever we are strongly motivated to honour God, let us not be guided by our own imagination. Let us not attempt anything beyond his Word, but rather be so in line with it that we allow him to govern us and guide us by the path that he knows to be right.”
I have not said that much about it, but God’s Word stands supreme above this entire section of chapters 6-7. The Ark contained nothing but the tablets at this time. Originally it had some other items, but at this point it contains only the original tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments (1 Ki.8:9). And it is no accident that the presence of God and the container of God’s Word are one in the same object. The arrival of God’s presence into Jerusalem and the arrival of the container of God’s Word were one in the same. Then what was chapter 6 all about? They worship in a way that does not line up with God’s Word and Uzzah ends up dead. They worship in a way that does conform to God’s Word and God accepts their worship. But He would not accept it at first even though they were so enthusiastic in their joy in the Lord. The greatest affections of worship are not only rejected but harshly punished when they go against God’s Word. And now even the most obvious act of reverence toward God from David’s heart is unacceptable and inappropriate apart from the command of God. This whole passage is just holding up the Scriptures as supreme in worship.
I got a great email last week after my sermon on the affections in worship. I talked about the importance of joy and desire and physical expression, etc. and the title of the sermon was “Ingredients for joyful worship.” The subject line of the email was, “You may have missed an ingredient.” Here are some excerpts from the email:
“Worship isn't only affections and expressions. It is cognitive, and complex. It … demands our intellectual engagement. The deeper the understanding the deeper the worship. The Psalms are complex. Modern Christian music, while it has a place, is not. It's Uzzah's sin when modern songwriters rely on repetition to build shallow emotional response instead of bringing deeper and deeper understanding through more and more complex doctrinal truth. It is a disservice to the Church, no matter how much hand waiving comes from it. The honor that God is given is less than He deserves. It may have heart, soul and strength, but it does not have mind. What will prostrate me before God is truth, truth, and more truth. Telling me to prostrate myself, or me promising to prostrate myself, is an inadequate substitute. I need to, and want to, be floored!”
As I said last week, I do believe that participating in the external expressions of worship can assist the heart in increasing the worship that is there. However, if there is no true worship in the heart all the external expression in the world will do nothing. And in order for worship to be in the heart there has to be an understanding of truth about God, because truth about God is our only access to Him. There is no other access. Using music to work yourself into a frenzy is not worship – even if you use worship music to do it. If what is in your heart is not a response to Biblical truth about God, it is not worship – period. No matter how many warm fuzzies you have and how many tingles you get up and down your spine, if it is not a response to doctrine it is not worship. And if at any point it steps outside the bounds of God’s Word, it becomes detestable to God.
So, how do you make your service to God a receiving from God? How do you seek grace during times of rest? First by focusing on your calling, and second by serving always and only in response to the truth of God’s Word. It is through Scripture that God gives us grace. And when you serve only according to Scripture that has an effect of teaching your soul about grace. If there were some self-styled thing I could offer God that would be acceptable I might think I am actually offering God something. But when the only thing God accepts is what He gave in Scripture, that serves as a constant reminder that all my giving to God has to be a receiving from God. 
Are you in a season of trouble right now or a season of rest? That is not always an easy question to answer because we always have some trouble and some rest. As bad as things may seem, you never have only trouble. As hard as it is to imagine there are a whole lot more things that could go wrong that are actually going well right now. And you never have total rest in this life either. So while some periods of life have a lot more trouble than rest, and other times might have a lot more rest than trouble – it is always somewhat of a mix. So in the areas of your trouble – let those drive you to seek hard after God’s grace. Let all the pain of life drive you to seek after not just relief, but grace. Seeking relief is when you say, “God fix this problem in this way and in this timing.” Seeking grace is when you say, “God, give me whatever I need whenever You decide I need it. Whether You provide relief or strength or just grace me with Your presence – whatever form Your grace takes the one thing I know for sure and believe with all my heart is that Your grace is sufficient for me.” So in the areas of your trouble seek the grace you need for that trouble. But in the areas of your rest – the areas that are going well – realize that they may not always go well. But while they are going well, use this time to seek new frontiers of grace by pursuing your calling and by digging deeply into God’s Word. Pick an attribute of God – one attribute, that you can study in depth over the next three or four months. Study it, read about it, meditate, pray, talk to others about it – everything you can do until your eyes are opened to the wonders of it so that it really does floor you. And pour yourself into your calling – not because God needs your help, but because you are desperate for more and more grace. And you know He supplies the grace necessary for you to fulfill your calling. Learn to see it as the feast that God designed it to be, and then…feast! 

Benediction: 2 Corinthians 9:8-10  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."   10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.