This morning, I was pondering on the life of David – the man after God’s heart.
He earnestly desired to build God a house, a noble desire. He lived in an extravagant palace and was deeply concerned that the house of God was in a makeshift tent.
He shared this idea with Nathan, the Prophet, who equally agreed that it was a great idea, and gave him the approval to proceed with the project.
The story doesn’t end there…
God spoke that night; He made it clear to Nathan that David shouldn’t build him a house. Instead, God had decided that David’s son would build him a house.
Whoosh!! This part got me. I mean, he had a great relationship with God (we can tell from the depth of his prayer journals – the Psalms). He was loved by God, and we could see the demonstration of God’s love on several occasions in his life; yet, he wasn’t the chosen one to build God a house! Let that thought sink in…
Now, I tried to imagine all the phases of emotions that David would have gone through when he received that proposal rejection. He could have been bitter about it, sulked all he could and possibly stubbornly gone ahead with his plan. We wouldn’t have this conversation if he opted for any of these.
This is not even the key point I’m driving at…
There are important lessons to learn from David’s reaction. He realized he could not actively be involved in the building project, so he set his son (who would lead the project) up for success by amassing a lot of the materials that would be required. He also documented the pattern of the building and gave it to his son as part of his final words. He solicited the support of the people, who equally gave freely to the project. After doing these, he encouraged Solomon to depend solely on God and prayed for his success. Such a heart of gold!
I couldn’t help but note how David set his son up for success. With such careful preparation made by his father, Solomon had a very high chance of success even before he started. This, for me, is the main lesson I’m taking out of this story today.
This question has been on my mind ever since: as a parent, what am I doing today to set my children up for success tomorrow??
Categories: My Christian Beliefs, My Devotionals
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