Have you ever looked back over your life and began to regret what you hadn't done or what you hadn't accomplished? If you have then you're just like Kind David! In 1 Chronicles chapters 22 and 23, David laments over his regret at not being able to build a temple for God. It was an accomplishment that he so wanted to achieve because he loved God and he wanted the Ark of the Covenant to be in a stable place.
This feeling is normal. There comes a time when you realize that you cannot do everything that you've envisioned. This shouldn't make you sad. It should actually make you hopeful. There's so much work to do in the Kingdom of God that such a notion should make us realize that we should be busy doing what we were instructed by God to do and moving out of the way so that others can do the same. We are part of a body and each of us has a function and a purpose. I cannot do what you do and you cannot do what I do, but when we work together we can fulfill the work of the Lord.
The scripture above reveals that God specifically told David that he would not be able to build the temple as he had so desired. Guess what? God told David this and David accepted it. This information didn't make David any less a great king. It didn't diminish his accomplishments or feats. It made no dent in who he was in God. David still remained a man after God's own heart. He still wrong songs. He still secured a great nation. He still was an awesome leader.
When you come to the realization that you can't do everything for everybody all the time and that you may not get to do some of the things that you've envisioned accomplishing in your lifetime, please do not take this realization as some type of defeat or as some indication that you are less than who God called you to be or not where you should be in life. There are reasons that God called you to the position He called you to fulfill. There's a plan and a purpose just for what you're supposed to accomplish and do. If we continue reading in 1 Chronicles we find that it was David's job to prepare the way for Solomon to have the years of rest and peace needed to fully focus on building the temple for God. David's purpose was not to build the temple, but to set Solomon up for success so that he could build the temple. David made sure that there were resources laid aside with money, skilled people, and items that would go into the temple. David made sure that he built good strong relationships with the rulers around him so that there would be enough years of peace so that the temple could be built and so that Solomon would have people he could reach out to for other materials and funding that he would need. David even began the process by setting up the Ark in a stable place and instructing the Levites on how to proceed from that time forth. So while there was one ultimate thing that David didn't do, there was so much more that he did do that made the temple building process even possible.
So now look at your own life. Who are you preparing the way for? What is God doing through you that someone else will be able to pick up and run with? What are you laying up so that someone else can use to further the Kingdom of God? Do not be saddened by what you haven't done, but instead be encouraged at what God has purposed for you to do.
Here's a transparent moment . . . I recently went on a 3 day fast. I went into it with my prayer requests and supplications, with my thoughts of what I needed to accomplish and where I thought I needed to be. After it was over, someone came to me and shared their struggle. Instantly, I realized that I had not gone through the consecration for myself. I had gone through it for that individual. I was able to minister to that person because of my preparation and out of fulfilling what God had told me to do. It was both a rewarding experience and a painful realization. It was rewarding because I knew instantly that God told me to do something, I did it and He was glorified in it. It was painful because there was something that I had wanted so much, that I was praying about and I learned that the moment wasn't about me or what I wanted. So at the end of it all, I turned to God and acknowledged that His will be done and not my own. It hurt as I imagine that King David hurt when God told him that he would not be the one to build the temple. But like David instead of focusing on what you can't do, focus on what you can do to prepare the way.
Today, your mind my be invaded by thoughts of what you don't have, where you haven't been, what you haven't seen, what you haven't done for the Lord or what you know you'll never be able to accomplish. If and when that should occur, remember that you remain who God called you to be. You are not diminished as a person. Your godly position does not change. Ask God to shift your paradigm and help you to prepare the way. Ask God to show you how valuable you are and how important it is for you to be obedient to what He has called you to do. And remember that without a David there would have been no Solomon to build the temple. Without a you, someone else would not be in a position to do what they need to do for God. Settle your heart and mind in knowing that God's purpose for you is just for you to fulfill. Do it with joy. Do it to the best of your ability. Do it with all obedience to God and He will bless you greatly.
No comments:
Post a Comment