Devotion by: Walt Rossbach
1 Chronicles 28:2-7
Then King David rose to his feet and said: ‘Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had planned to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God; and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, “You shall not build a house for my name, for you are a warrior and have shed blood.” Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my ancestral house to be king over Israel for ever; for he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father’s house, and among my father’s sons he took delight in making me king over all Israel. And of all my sons, for the Lord has given me many, he has chosen my son Solomon to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. He said to me, “It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. I will establish his kingdom for ever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.”
David first expresses his understandable disappointment at not being chosen by God to build the Temple to house the ark of the covenant because “he, David, has shed blood” (what does that say to us today?) and was therefore bypassed for Judah to be appointed the leader in his place. However, he is still grateful that his own son, Solomon, is to be tasked with this most highly desired job within the community. Too often we don’t show much gratitude for being given important jobs and assignments both in the secular world and within the fellowship of God we call our church -- certainly not as much as we should, tending to look often at tasks as toilsome laborious assignments and not opportunities to show our love in action. Also, our gratitude should extend to the roles played by others around us, including our families, extended families and friends. All should be a source of our pride and and we should support their involvement in both the community at large and within the organized church, just as David supports his son Solomon’s assignment to build the temple and continue to follow God’s commands and laws. Be quick to be grateful and slow to be disappointed.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I am most grateful for the wonderful life I’ve been given and the opportunities that continue to come my way to bear witness to your loving presence through music, a universal language of love that for some wonderful reason, everyone can relate to. Please guide us into happily accepting assignments and tasks for which we should be most grateful. Amen.
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