But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’  (1 Chronicles 28:3 NIV) 

David was excited about building the Temple for the Lord, yet he was not permitted to build it.  The test for David was whether his dream was God’s or his.

I have had some ups and downs in my service for the Lord.  I once served as a ministry leader and had great hopes and dreams.  Not long after I started, I was abruptly taken out of my leadership role.  Some years later, I was asked to serve on the board of directors for this ministry.  The question I had to ask myself was, did I own my dreams, or did God?  To this day I serve on this board and get great pleasure in seeing some of the plans that I had accomplished through another leader

David seemed to have the same anticipation for seeing the Temple being built by this son Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:10-21 NLT).  It is not about who gets to accomplish the work, but are God’s plans being fulfilled?  President Reagan had a plaque on his office wall that said, “there is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”  It is much the same in our Christian service.

I am convinced that many do not see their dreams fulfilled, not because they are not faithful enough, but they are unwilling to give them up. There is a strange dichotomy in the Kingdom of God. If you give something up, you keep it.  If you lose it, you find it.  Are your dreams God’s, then he is the only one who can fulfill them? 

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]