2 Samuel 5-9 CSB
When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals. But my faithful love will never leave him as it did when I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and kingdom will endure before Meforever, and your throne will be established forever. 7:12-16
These chapters in 2 Samuel cover a lot of time and ground. It is a brief history of all that David did from the time that he was anointed king until the time he established his kingdom. There is the account of him establishing Jerusalem and bringing the ark to Jerusalem (which we will discuss more when we are in Chronicles). There is the account of his family expanding, other kingdoms being defeated and David establishing himself as a King of Israel like none other. Also, tucked away in these chapters is David’s attempt to build the temple and God’s command that he would not get to be the one to do it. While David had big plans and wanted to do so much to honor God, at the end of the day he couldn’t do everything that needed to be done.
Like David, I tend to be a big thinker and always have grand visions of the things that I want to accomplish in my life. I trust that some of those things are from the Lord, but all of those things can’t be accomplished in this brief vapor of time that God gives me on the earth. However, it is encouraging to me, as I am sure that it was to David, that even though I might not personally accomplish everything, those things can still be accomplished by others. God promised David that the temple would be built but that it would be built by his son. This life is a marathon and not a sprint, even though it seems like it is over so quickly. God has a plan and you are a part of the plan, but you are not the entire plan.
The Lord has been teaching me this in recent years as I realized that some of my ideas might be good, but not necessarily for me to accomplish myself. In short, we need other people. We need partners and we need those who share our vision to come alongside us and help us accomplish those things God has called us to do. Sometimes we as Christians think that the Great Commission and reaching the world is all on our shoulders. It was given to us and we must do our part, but every believer in the world shares that burden… not just us. In David’s case, the Lord promised him that the temple would be built; David’s vision would come to fruition but it would be his son Solomon who built it. Sometimes the most profound thing we can do to accomplish our goals is to build into those around us and particularly our children. They are a “heritage” to the Lord and when we shape them we are shaping the future and ensuring that God’s kingdom continues to advance and grow. Who are you building into and who are you mentoring to carry the torch when your time in the race is over?
