THE TASK OF A LIFETIME

"And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD." - 1 Chronicles 28:20

Do you want to accomplish something grand in your lifetime?  Perhaps you are working hard to achieve goals and specific dreams, yet there are times when God says "no" to our dreams.  He may keep us from reaching certain goals that we set, including goals that seem worthwhile.

That was the case for King David.  David had a great ambition.  He wanted to build a great house for God.  You would think that God would certainly allow David to accomplish this mission, but instead, God told David that the house would not be built by him, but by his son.

As David neared death, he challenged his son to build a house for God.  1 Chronicles 28:20 is part of David's charge to Solomon:  "And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD."  King David was very vocal and intentional in his desire to have this project completed by his son.  Consider a few things about this amazing project.

1.  THE PLAN

First of all, there was the plan.  Even though David would not get to build the house of God, he made specific plans for the house.  He worked on design and materials for the project.  He made sure that his son would have everything he needed to accomplish the job.

2.  THE PERSUASION

Secondly, there was David's persuasion.  David had a grand vision, but he had to pass this vision on to his son.  Vision is not transferred automatically.  Vision is not transferred by genetics. 

Notice the words that David used to motivate his son:  "Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed."  You might say that David gave his son a pep talk in this verse.  Notice the encouragement David gave to Solomon:

• "Be strong."  David did not want his son to be a weak leader.  Strong leadership would be required to accomplish the task at hand.
• "Be ... of good courage."  David didn't want Solomon to be an insecure leader either.  Doubts and insecurities have destroyed many leaders.
• "... do it."  King David intended for his son to be a man of action and accomplishment.  It is one thing to plan a job.  It is another thing to actually accomplish the job. 
• "... fear not, nor be dismayed."  It is easy to get overwhelmed when you face a huge task.  David knew that Solomon would be tempted to give up and quit.  At the time of David's speech, Solomon was a young man.  When a young man faces a huge project, he often begins with great confidence, but soon the magnitude of the job weighs him down and gets him discouraged. 

David knew how to persuade his son.  David was entrusting his dream to his young son, Solomon. 

3.  THE PROMISE

Finally, there's the promise.  David promised Solomon:  "... he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD."  Solomon was promised that God would not let him down during this project.  God would be there for him.  Notice the extent of the promise, "... until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD." What a promise! 

Many people plan to accomplish something great in their lives.  A few actually begin accomplishing dreams, just to get distracted or discouraged and then quit. Very few actually finish the great project or lifelong dream.  Solomon would not only begin the task, he would finish it.

After David's death, Solomon built the great temple of God.  It was an amazing building.  It was his father's dream, but it became Solomon's dream, too.  It was the task of a lifetime and Solomon was blessed to complete the project.  The temple would later be referred to as, "Solomon's temple," but it was really the house of God.

Has God put a dream on your heart?  Are you doing anything about it?  The first step in finishing a project is to simply begin.  Today would be a great day to start.