Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall
be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side;
for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his
days. 10 He shall build a house for My name....... (I Chronicles 22:9-10a NASB).
God Decides Our
Destiny
David desired to build God’s
house. In v. 7 he said, I had intended to
build a house to the name of the Lord my God.
Yet, God had another idea. He
instructs David that he was a man who had shed much blood, therefore, he was not
the one to build His house. Instead, Solomon his son, a man of peace was given
the task. How did David respond to this
unexpected twist in God’s direction for his life? David hurried to gather foreign construction
workers. He stored up iron, bronze, and
great quantities of timber for the house of the Lord. We do not see a hint of hesitation or
disappointment in David. He seemed to be
willing to set about to help in the process.
Why? In v.5. David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house
that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and
glorious throughout all lands.” He
was doing it for the Lord. It didn’t matter to David if he or his
son actually built it, as long as God was glorified.
It’s About God’s
Glory Not Our Ministry
There may be many pastors,
ministry leaders, or Christian workers out there reading this who haven’t seen
the growth or blessing they anticipated.
Though faithful servants of God, many of the Lord’s promises to them
have not come to fruition. Are you one
of them? Spending part of your time
blaming yourself and yes, even tempted to blame God. You may be missing the
fact that God’s undertakings may often span more than one generation as this
story illustrates.
In time a son in the Lord or a new ministry
leader may replace you and take your church or ministry to a new level. But you must remember, that their success is yours
also. You planted and watered and the
new leader may reap the increase, but all are necessary parts of God’s
plan. David must have realized that in
Solomon building the temple, God was actually blessing him.
Ultimately,
why we serve in ministry (for His glory) is more important than what we do (I
pastor, I preach, etc.). Unfortunately,
many in ministry dwell on their exploits in Christian service, rather than
their motive, doing it for Him and His glory.
If for Him is not the
centerpiece of our labors for Christ, all our “I” oriented pursuits may go down
into God’s black hole of forgetfulness.
If we cannot get excited when God blesses others, it reveals we either
have a limited vision of God’s overall purposes, or it is still about us and
not Him. David was a man who saw the big
picture, and God called him a man after His
own heart (I Samuel 13:14 NASB).
Servant leaders recognize that God’s plans are always bigger than our
little corner of the world.
Ken
Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
Very true!
ReplyDeleteDerek,
ReplyDeleteYes it is. Thanks for the comment.