“My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’”
1 Kings 8:18-19
In 1983, my husband and I wanted to build a church in Kampala, Uganda. In fact, many times Ron drove around a theatre in the city center, believing God to give us that building for a church. Years later, God gave our dear friends the very place for which Ron had prayed. THERE they planted a thriving church that still touches the entire nation, while we started a church in the nearby slum!
Notice what God told David BEFORE announcing he was not the one to build the Temple—“Your intention was good.” David’s heart was to honor his God, and that intension was fulfilled through his son. David and Solomon were a TEAM—one had a heart to build, the other had power and riches; but it was GOD who gifted both men, and GOD who received the glory!
I need to remember that story when another person is assigned a task I wanted to do. None of us likes to hear those painful words, “You’re not the one.” But if we are all on the same TEAM and take assignments from the same Coach, then it doesn’t matter WHO carries the ball on each play. What matters is that we ALL have the same intention—to honor OUR God!
So, will we cheer for the touchdown or gripe about who carried the ball?
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