How Do You Handle Your Dashed Hopes?
David wanted to build a temple. And who better to do so? Hadn’t he, literally written the book on worship? Didn’t he rescue the ark of the covenant? The temple would have been his theme song so to speak, his signature. He expected to dedicate his final years to building a shrine to God. That had been his intention.
1 Chronicles 28: 2 says this: “ Then David the king stood upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building.” (KJV).
The last speech, where David addresses his brethren, calls to mind the time many decades earlier when representatives of the tribe came to Him and declared, “we are thy bone and thy flesh. He reminded his people that he had wanted to build the temple for God’s ark.
He had good intentions and preparations, but no temple. Why is that? Did he grow discouraged? No. He stood ready and willing. Were the people resistant toward him? Hardly not. They gave to the cause generously. So what really happened?
A conjunction happened.
A conjunction I an action or an instance of two or more events or things occurring at the same point in time. They operate the signal lights of sentences. Some, such as and, are green, others, such as however, are yellow and a few are red. They stop you in your tracks. David got the red light.
God told him he would not build a house for His name because he was a man of war and had shed blood.
Verse 3 of 1 Chronicles 28 says: “But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war and hast shed blood.” (KJV).
David’s bloodthirsty nature cost him the privilege of building a temple. All he could do was to say, “I had intended and made preparations, But God…..”
Do you know anybody who has uttered similar words? You see God had different plans than they did. Here is a couple of examples of stories that really happened.
One man waited until he was in his mid - thirties to get married. He selected what he thought to was the right spouse. He prayerfully took his time and when he found her, they move out west and bought a ranch and begin their life together. However, a short three years later she was killed in an accident.
A young couple turned a room in their house into a nursery. They painted the walls, refinished a baby crib, but then the wife miscarried.
All either could say was “I had intended, I had made preparations, But God…”
So what do you do with the “But God… moments in life? You see, when God interrupts your plans, just how do you respond?
The man who lost his wife did not respond well. He lives in a fog, angry, and bitter. The young couple is doing some better. They keep themselves active with church and pray about another child. And what about David? When God changed his plans, how did he respond?
He responded like this: 1 Chronicles 28: 4: “Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel.”
You see, David knew he was king only because God had willed it, and that by the same sovereign will God had now chosen Solomon as his successor.
David had gone from runt to royalty, from herding sheep to leading armies, from sleeping in the pasture to living in the palace.
Let me ask you a question. When you go and get an ice cream sundae, you don’t complain over a missing cherry, do you?
David faced the behemoth of disappointments in life, yet he trusted God. You also will have disappointments in your like. Who’s to say you want have as many or more than David? So let me encourage you, when that time comes don’t let your dashed hope control you and cause you to lose faith. Turn to the one who can help the most. Turn to God, be obedient, and most of all trust Him. He is control and He knows what is best for us and He will guide you through the disappointments and dashed hopes.