“Be strong and courageous,” David said to his son Solomon. “Get to work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He’ll neither let you down nor leave you before all the work for the service of the Lord’s temple is done.”
Reflection
King David wanted to build the temple, but by God’s design, the task would not be his. The task would go to his son Solomon. The task would go to the next generation. I can just see and hear King David talking to Solomon. I imagine King David, hand on the younger man’s shoulder, saying, “Be strong and courageous…. Get to work… Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you….”
Don’t stop. I am with you.
And as I ponder the scene, I also think of the words, “courage and conviction.” I can hear my earthly father, who often encouraged his children to do the hard things we’d committed to, despite the challenges. Whenever we whined or complained about having to now follow through with something that had become difficult, Dad would say, “Have the courage of your convictions,” or, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”
Whatever the challenge was, rest assured, we would not be resting! We would be prodded to stick to it and see the task through. Sometimes my Dad was encouraging us to do something with which he was very familiar –like hard or extra work. My Dad was an overcomer, so we were always familiar with the grit it took to get somewhere. There were great lengths, big ideas and many discussions about the things that mattered to each of us and to the world.
Don’t stop. I am with you.
Sometimes Dad was backing us in experiences that he would never have had the opportunity to achieve in his own youth — like traveling across the country or to places around the globe for work, education or experience. Sometimes Dad was cheerleading our challenges, even while silently, or even loudly, cringing at our choices. Yet Dad had the wisdom not to begrudge us the time or opportunity to live out our decisions or to find the courage of our convictions.
I also think of our Heavenly Father who encourages us and stays with us through it all. Whenever we take on any challenge, our Lord stays with us. Even when we choose a path that our Heavenly Father seems to silently — or loudly– disagree with, our God stays. Our God gives us courage to find our convictions.
Don’t stop. I AM with you. I will not leave your side.
By Barbara Carlson
For Pondering & Prayer
How does knowing that our Lord is present for you at all times make you think differently? How have you experienced God’s holy presence? How have you used your own wisdom and courage to discern God’s path for your life? When you struggle with courage, or need to know that God is there, pause and say the Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things that I can And the wisdom to know the difference. Amen. - Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
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