Such and such things: 2 Samuel 12:7-9

Here is a scripture I really like.  It is from the story of King David in the Old Testament.  In the first six verses of this chapter, the prophet Nathan has come to rebuke David for putting Uriah in harm's way so that he could have his wife, Bathsheba.  Nathan tells David the story of a rich man and a poor man.  The rich man has many sheep.  The poor man only has one little lamb, but he loves her like a daughter.  A guest comes to the rich man's house, and instead of killing one of his many sheep to feed the traveler, the rich man takes the poor man's precious lamb and kills it.  When David hears this story he is outraged by the injustice of the rich man.  Then Nathan tells David that he is the selfish rich man in the story.  Nathan says (2 Samuel 12:7-9):

 7 ...Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

 8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?  


Why am I so struck by this passage?  The Lord points out the many rich blessings he has given David and then says to him that if those things had not been enough, he would have given David even more.  It is God's generosity that strikes me.  Suppose that David, instead of taking matters into his own hands,  had sought the Lord's help.  What if he had told the Lord that there was something missing in his life and he was sorely tempted to fill that need in a sinful way.  God could have given David what he was missing if he had asked, and it would have been something far better and more healing than another man's wife.   It would have had the power to fill that hole in David's soul permanently and perfectly. 

What if each time I wanted to reach for a cookie to comfort myself, I instead knelt and asked for God's help?  I could count on him to give me what I need.  When I try to comfort myself with a dessert, I don't actually feel comforted--I feel worse than ever.  That hole in me gets bigger, not smaller.  Can I have faith in God's kindness and generosity to ask him to provide the things I need, instead of seeking to provide them for myself?