What Is Your Temple
June 28, 2017·Danielle McEntee
We all want to leave a legacy. We all want to accomplish something in our lives, no matter how small, that is important and remembered. Hopefully, these dreams and goals revolve around God’s will.
James 4:2-3 says, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” And, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives.” Yikes! That’s an in-your-face truth! In fact, I read that and get SUPER convicted! What dreams and goals am I asking God to bless in my life that have completely wrong motives behind them?
In verses 7-10, James continues on and tells us that we must submit ourselves to God for His purposes, not our own; and if we humble ourselves before the Lord, He will be faithful to lift us up!
Solomon was a man who left a legacy. He built a temple for the Lord, which I’ll venture to say was no easy task! God appears to him and, in 1 Kings 9:4, tells him, “if you walk before me faithfully with integrity, and obey my commands and laws, I will establish your throne over Israel forever.”
Skip to 2 Chronicles 8:16, where it tells us that “all Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion.”
Solomon’s devotion to build the temple of the Lord was not merely to build a temple for building a temple’s sake! If he had neglected the worship that was to be performed there, if he had failed to “walk faithfully with integrity,” if he had failed to obey and observe God’s decrees and laws, the temple would have been entirely in vain. When the service of the temple was put into this good order, then it’s said, in verse 16, that “the house of the Lord was perfected.”
What is your “temple”? Are you building it in vain? Are you seeking to leave a legacy without first seeking the Lord? I’m asking myself the same questions. We must seek out the Lord! What does that mean, exactly? Pray! Read His Word! We have all the answers in the Bible, we simply need to search them out with fervor.
Let’s follow James’ words of instruction to submit ourselves to God for His purposes and not build temples for our own purposes. One thing I know for sure, He who is faithful will BE faithful to lift us up.
