The Father's Expectation and Exhortation

The Father’s Exhortation and Expectation 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. I Chronicles 28 v 20 David exhorted his son and heir Solomon to be strong and courageous, to be neither fearful nor disappointed as the Lord was with him. David did not want his son to be diffident or fearful. He expected him to succeed. The odds seemed to be against that hope. Solomon was born out of a wedlock that was not approved by the Lord. He was young and immature when he ascended the throne. His own brothers sought the throne for themselves. His kingdom was surrounded by his father David’s powerful foes and enemies with whom he had fought all his life. But David asks Solomon to base his confidence on the faith that the Lord would not fail or forsake him. He had the hope that he would finish all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. Similarly, the Lord exhorts us who are his children and heirs to be strong and of good courage. We like Solomon are called to do work for the service of the house of the Lord. Since all that we do, we do as for Him, He is the guarantor of the success of our mission. Whenever there is a gap in our strength or abilities, the Lord will fill that by His grace. The words “ good courage” implies that it is not a courage based on self confidence or self belief but faith in the Lord and His Word. It is genuine courage and not a counterfeit courage or bravado. Solomon was called to build a physical temple for the Lord but we are called to build our own lives and the lives of others as the house of God. When we are constantly aware of our deep connection with the Lord and how He dwells in us, we fulfil His will for our lives. Every thought, word and deed of ours is a living brick with which we build the house of the Lord. Jesus allowed His own body to be torn down so that our lives would be built up as a new house of the Lord. That is why He told the Jews of the day, “ In three days, I can destroy the temple built by Solomon and re-build it again.” His last words on the cross, “ It is finished” implied that He had finished all the work for the service of the Lord. We too must believe that we will finish well. He now dwells with us in a very personal and intimate sense and He will enable us to finish all our work in the service of the house of the Lord. Meanwhile, we should always be conscious that the Lord is with us. If He is with us, only those against us should fear. He will not leave us or forsake us. In one word, He is faithful. This implies that we will succeed in all the work that we do according to His will. While we live and work, He desires us to reflect our faith in two positive attitudes of strength and courage. We are filled, clothed or covered with the might, power, strength and grace of the Lord. We should neither be fearful nor disappointed. Fear precedes while disappointment or regret succeeds an outcome that we are hoping for. A variety of fears afflict us in the course of our lives- fear of failure, fear of other people’s opinions, fear of success, fear of making mistakes, fear of the forces of evil and darkness, fear of death, fear of enemies and foes, fear of the unknown, fear of shame and punishment, fear of ridicule, fear of loneliness, fear of ill health,fear of accidents…. The Lord asks us to overcome every fear with faith instead of denying it exists. He desires us to be courageous or to take risks for His sake. He desires us not to be depressed or rejected. As someone said, whenever we are rejected in something, it only means we are re-directed. His Father’s heart desires that we be hopeful and joyful. The recent remarkable picture in social media of an Iranian man of God who went smiling to be hanged as he did not forsake his faith in Christ. Even at the point of a cruel undeserved death, he was not fearful or dismayed as he knew that the Lord was with him and would not leave him nor forsake him. Prateep V Philip