I Chronicles 28:6 And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father
I’m sure you want to be a success today at whatever endeavor in which you may be involved. The question is, “What is success?” Who is the most successful person you personally know? That is an important question because if you don’t know what success is, you won’t recognize it when you find it. If you ill define success, you will waste your time and energy on things that in the big scheme of life won’t matter. The question is, “What must you accomplish to be a success?”
In I Chronicles 28 we find a very successful man, a successful warrior and king, King David of Israel, yet David had a huge ambition that was never fulfilled. Was that because he was a failure? No, indeed it was because God accomplished His purpose and not David’s. David had wanted to construct a magnificent temple for Jehovah God, and even the prophet Nathan thought that was a good thing. But God kind of tapped Nathan on the shoulder and told him that He did not want David to build the temple but his son Solomon.
In I Chronicles 28:2, David is speaking to princes, captains, stewards, his sons, officers, and the mighty men of his kingdom, men who had been given delegated responsibility in his kingdom, and he says, “Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD.” David said, “I wanted to build God a temple.” Verse 3 says, “But God…” God interrupted that plan.
Was this because David was more ambitious than God? Indeed, no. No one is more ambitious or able than God. Your ambitions will never outstrip those of the God who created you, but God’s ambitions were different than David’s. David was wise and godly enough that when he knew what God wanted, he conceded to that. So, you are a success when you are willing to steward what God gives you.
When David goes on to challenge his son Solomon about his job of building the temple that David had wished to build, he tells him, “You need to serve God with a willing mind and a perfect heart.” In verse 5 he reminds those listening that though he had many sons, God had chosen Solomon to build the temple David had wanted to build. So, David had gold, sons, and a pattern that God had given regarding the temple. The point is that everything David had was a stewardship. Therefore, success is when I am willing to steward what God gives me. It is not what God give someone else. That is a selfish ambition. No, just be eager to accomplish what God has given you.
God gave David a purpose. David said, “I want to build the temple.” God said, “No, Solomon will build the temple.” God gave David a pattern. In verse 19 David says, “The LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. So, the temple that Solomon built was according to the pattern David had given him that God had given David. David had a purpose from God, a pattern from God.
David also had a person from God, namely Solomon. In verse 20 he encourages Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage…fear not, nor be dismayed: the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.” It was David’s wish and Solomon’s work.
Faith is letting God be the one that chooses. Throughout this story you find that God had a mind of His own. He chose David to be king and Judah to be ruler in verse 4. In verse 5 He chose Solomon to build the temple. In verse 10 he says to Solomon, “Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee.” So, God had a mind of His own.
What did David do? He could have sat in the corner and sulked because he wasn’t able to do what he wanted to do. Instead, he gave what he had to the work God had given that was beyond him and his lifetime. In verse 12 he had a pattern. In verse 14 he had gold. He also had a son. All these things he gave.
Success is serving God with a willing heart for the stewardship God has given. When you cannot do what you want, do what you can. You will never lose out when you do what God has created you to do. What is your wish today? I don’t know, but what is God’s will today? That is the important question. You will be a success when you are willing to steward what God gives.