Is It Your Assignment?
“But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ (2 Chronicles 6:8-9 NKJV)
King David loved God so much and wanted to give Him his very best. One of his desires was to build a temple for the Lord. He said to Nathan, the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains (1 Chronicles 17:1 NKJV).
God saw the desire of King David’s heart and told the prophet “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord; “You shall not build me a house to dwell in….” (1Chronicles 17:4 NKJV). The Lord further said, “And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons,; and I will establish his kingdom. “He shall build me a house and I will establish his throne forever” (1Chronicles 17:11-12).
God made it clear to King David that though the desire to build Him a temple was laudable, it was not his assignment. The assignment was for another and David knew better than to disobey God.
In 1 Samuel 13:8-14, the Bible tells us that King Saul waited seven days for Samuel the prophet to arrive at Gilgal to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. When Samuel did not arrive, King Saul offered the sacrifice; an act that he was forbidden to do. Samuel, the prophet, was the one God had designated to offer the sacrifice on this ocassion. As a result of this mistake, God took the kingdom from King Saul. Samuel said to him, “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:14)
Many times, we Christians take it upon ourselves to do things for others, the Church, our community, etc. In most cases, it is for a good cause and in our limited minds; we believe that God would be pleased. When things don’t work out the way we expect, we are upset, sometimes distraught and may even go as far as blaming God. But God did not say the assignment was ours to do. He had another person in mind to accomplish the assignment. We did not ask Him, His hand was never in it and so it failed.
May we learn to seek God’s face so as not to pick up another person’s assignment?
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Prayer:
Father, we bless your Name. We thank you because the entrance of your Word bringeth light and understanding to the simple. Your Word tells us that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. Lord, we ask that you order our steps. Help us to do only those assignments that you have called us to do. Every assignment that is not ours, may we not touch it. We ask this in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen.
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