Who am I, that I could give anything to You?
This prayer from 1 Chronicles 29:10-19 is from King David after he had gathered all the resources together to build the temple which included much of his own offerings and an overwhelming large amount offerings from the people of the kingdom. In my perspective, it represents how I would want to pray for my family and my own life.
"...O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
16 “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.” --1 Chronicles 29:10-19 (NLT)
It reminds me that not even the body I live in belongs to me. As such, I need to take good care of it as a faithful steward would. The work that these hands do should build and create for the Kingdom of God because the tools used to create anything belong to Him first. I'm just borrowing them for a brief time on earth. The thoughts and words that come from me are to be used to bring glory to God. They should do His bidding by sharing His message as first priority. They should show his love as the highest priority.
Think of it this way. What if you sent someone out with your vehicle, your equipment, your tools, your resources and you paid them to do a job? You then gave them instructions on how to build everything that you wanted. What if you sent messengers to train them on how to use the tools that were provided? And lastly, you then sent your own son or daughter to make sure they had a visual aid on how to get the job done. However, in the end, they chose to use all those things to build their own house with their own plans. They then used the facility to celebrate with your enemy, eating your food and drinking your drinks. How would you feel?
That's what I think it's like to be a poor steward of God's resources. We take everything that God has given us, including our life, health, time, talents, money, education and then do whatever we think we can achieve only to glorify ourselves; therefore, making ourselves enemies of God by idolatry.
I don't know about you, but I have definitely been guilty of this. Procrastination, selfishness, fear, pure laziness, all of these things, at some point, have hindered me from fully doing God's will. Realizing the truth brings shame & guilt on my soul but thank God for Jesus Christ's gift of redemption and salvation because without it I would not be able to rise up in the morning to function. My guilt would keep me depressed all the time but no, there's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus according to Romans 8:1. I have been set free. I'm not a slave anymore.
But now here's the thing, that same gift of salvation is why I now want to complete the job I was tasked to do. Using all the resources that He has given me, I want to do this service out of gratitude for God allowing me to use this body, this mind, this time I have left, these skills, these finances and these experiences. Gratefulness instead of fear and shame should now be the driving reason to work towards God's agenda.
The more life we live the more responsibilities we have to share the blessings of God. The longer we're alive, here on earth, the more we should be sharing the gifts of God because our testimony is greater with each passing day. Believe me, the idea of waking up this morning, with my mind in tact (well, at least partially some would argue) and my body able to rise out of bed to walk to the bathroom without aid is a massive blessing. There's nothing more striking to any of us than the loss of our mind or our physical health. The verse, "LORD, teach me to number my days" is an acute reminder that every moment and every thing belongs to God. They should be utilized, even in the smallest manner, to bring about God's agenda first.
Grasp that thought right now. What plans have I made for this life, this year, this week, this very day? Where are they in respect to achieving what God has asked me to do? Have I even sought out His will to begin with? Have I made allowance for God to change my plans if it's in His will to do so? Even Jesus had a disclaimer because He asked “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Whatever directions I think my life should take needs to be by design of the Father and then submitted to Him for His blessing. Maintain the idea that it's only for my good if there are changes because He loves me so much that whatever challenge I face in obedience to Him, it's because He loves me and knows what is best for me.
My prayer today... LORD, let me be a useful & purposefully driven tool in the effort to see Your will done, here on earth, as it is done in Heaven. Give me the wholehearted desire to achieve Your kingdom goals above everything else in my life today. Show me, step-by-step, what moves to make and when to make them. Protect me from my temptations and keep me in Your will with every effort. AMEN! ~~twh
