“The craftsmen
of Solomon and Hiram and the men of Gebal cut and prepared the timber
and stone for the building of the temple.” – 1 Kings 5:18
Did you ever own a car that refused to be driven until its engine was warm? My dad did.
He was the proud owner of a Volvo diesel station wagon. I remember it
well. It was a real speedster: 0 to 60 mph in around 45 seconds —
assuming there was a tailwind. And it had another marvelous feature: Simply press the accelerator to the floor and a thick plume of black
smoke would fend off any would-be tailgaters.
With so many wonderful features, it’s a wonder that my dad allowed me
to drive it. But he did, provided I follow this one simple rule: “Make
sure you let the car warm up.”
Like most of us, my dad’s Volvo wasn’t fast, flashy or ready to run a
marathon five seconds after being awakened from a dead sleep. It needed
time to warm up. It had to get its juices flowing and slurp down a cup
or two of “joe” before it was ready to roll. In other words, in order to
get us to our desired destination, that old Volvo required
preparation.
You see, good preparation is vital for old diesels, and it’s just as vital for Christians who aim to glorify God.
In 1 Kings 5, King Solomon set out to do exactly what God had
promised King David he would do: build the temple in Jerusalem. The
construction of the temple was destined to be the most important
building project in Israel’s history. The temple would centralize
worship in Jerusalem, and the Ark of the Covenant upon which God’s
Spirit remained would be back in the Holy of Holies where God intended
it to be. And contrary to popular belief, this massive, strategic
building project didn’t rest on a foundation of stone. It actually
rested squarely on the foundation of God’s faithful promise.
Several years earlier in 2 Samuel 7:12-13a, the LORD promised David,
“When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up
your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I
will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for
My Name.” God promised David that his son would build the temple, so God
saw to it that Solomon did just that. Why? He did it because God always
keeps His word.
Without God’s promise, the temple never would have been built.
With that in mind, here is a little morsel of Scripture-based wisdom to chew on: God’s promises inspire God’s work.
Think about it. Why do you spend your time and energy doing the Christian stuff that you do?
What inspires you to read your Bible? What inspires you to pray? What
inspires you to come to church? What inspires you to tithe? What
inspires you to share your faith with others and lead them to Christ?
Is it not, in large part, God’s powerful and trustworthy promises that
inspire you to do the dozens of things that you do as part of your
Christian walk? We faithfully read the Bible because God promises that
it will be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. We faithfully
pray because God promises to hear and answer prayer. We faithfully
attend church each week not only because God says so, but because God
promises to meet with us as we gather in His name. We faithfully tithe
because as we give God our first 10%, He promises to open the floodgates
of heaven and bless us more than we can imagine. We faithfully share
our faith with others because Jesus promises that those who accept him
as Lord and Savior will receive the gift of eternal life. We do what we
do in response to God’s good and faithful promises. God’s promises are
the very foundation of our good works, are they not?
So, consider Philippians 1:6: “I am confident of this, that he who began a work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” The fact is, God’s wisdom and power have prepared the way for His will to be carried out in your life. Throughout your lifetime, the Lord has been preparing you to do something significant and impactful that would bring Him much glory.
Every family
member in your life, along with every friend, neighbor, teacher,
coworker, boss and even your enemies, have been used by God to shape you
into the person that you are today. Why has He done this? He has done
it so that you can faithfully carry out the marching orders that He has
tailor made for you, so that you can bring Him the honor and glory that
only you can bring Him.
Isn’t this a remarkable reality to consider? As your life brings the
Lord much glory, the very preparation that brought you to this place of
bringing Him glory has also brought Him glory. Like me, as you look
back over the years of your lifetime, you have a wealth of memories.
Some are good. Others are bad. Still others are really ugly. Yet God has
used all of these moments and encounters in your life—good, bad and
ugly—strategically to bring you to this place in your life. Did God
know what He was doing? You better believe He did!
So, don’t miss this
golden opportunity to bring a double helping of glory to the Lord. Bring
Him glory by lovingly and faithfully carrying out his marching orders
today. And as you do, the sum total of all your past relationships and
experiences that have shaped you for this moment will also bring Him
glory.
You see, years ago the Lord began a good work in you, a work of
preparing you. And good preparation glorifies God.
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