Preparing

And David said to Solomon:"My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the LORD my God; but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, a for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever. – 1 Chronicles 22v7-10

I doubt that I would have ever noticed this passage if not for a particular time in our lives and a biography of William Carey.

The background is simple and the passage may not seem especially dynamic or exciting. That very fact reminds us of the truth that God’s word, all of it, powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. It also reminds us of the importance of sharing how God is using His word in our lives.

David had a great desire to build the Temple of God. However God did not let him do that. Instead, his job was to gather the materials and set his son Solomon to the task.

David must have been disappointed, but he set about doing what God wanted him to do.

In an especially slow and tedious time of Carey’s ministry in India he found himself discouraged. Nothing seemed to be happening. It looked for all the world like he was going to be a failure in his own eyes and in the eyes of the world. Years had passed and ‘nothing’ had happened.

One morning he read the passage above. God spoke to his heart and he wrote in his journal that if all he was going to be permitted to do was gather the materials for a future work like David did he would be content with his ministry.

About 200 years later we were in a similar situation. A few years had passed and it seemed like we were only going backwards. During that time I ‘just happened’ to be reading Carey’s biography. His response to the passage above really spoke to my heart. I realised that we do not always get to do what we think we should do. I realised that I may have to be content to do all I could do in preparation for someone else to reap the results.

Over the last few years things have still been a little slow. Over and over though I can look back to David’s example and how it spoke to Carey to encourage others.

Who knows how our sharing how God is working in our own hearts might work in the hearts of others?