II Samuel 7:4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.
David was thankful for all God had done for him: choosing him to become king, giving him victories on every side, bringing him back home where he could worship with God's people and bring the Ark of the Covenant back from the Philistines. The least he could do was build a temple for God. But God said "no." Over time God shares his reasoning, but at this point David accepts God's "No." He is grateful for what God had called him to do and was willing to not do what God did not have in mind for him to do. Often, we can come up with things we think would be great to do "for God." They are not bad things in and of themselves (though having a temple tends to make us think we have God trapped in one place), but they are not the things God has for us. We need to learn to listen well enough that we don't do it anyway.
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