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The Lord declared that Solomon had been chosen and that he should sit on the throne and build the temple. David gave Solomon the patterns for every aspect of the temple along with all the materials down to the gold for candlesticks and meat hooks. Everything Solomon needed was there along with the priests and men who would build the temple.

Plant Good Thoughts

Along with the materials and patterns, David gave his son two pieces of advice. First he said, "Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy fathers and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever."

David was speaking from experience here. He had sought the Lord with his thoughts and desires and he had found Him. But there were other thoughts that plagued David -- lustful desires that came forward into adulterous actions, an illegitimate child, and eventual murder. David is the one who taught Solomon by word and poor example that "as a man thinketh in his heart so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) The thoughts and imaginations of the heart crystallize into words and actions. Perhaps this is why Jesus taught that "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36). That's a strong statement! Words indicate the thoughts of the heart. Jesus said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." (Luke 6:45)

Thoughts lead to words which eventually lead to actions. Think of thoughts as seeds that eventually sprout into our words and bear fruit in actions. This is why Jesus could say, "That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). The seed has been planted, and spiritually speaking the action or thing is created the minute we imagine it in our thoughts.

Knowing this, we realize that we must do more than bite our tongues, we must also control our thoughts! In her book, "Me and My Big Mouth," Joyce Myer says that if we carried a tape recorder around on our belt and recorded some of the things we say, we would be shocked at our negativity. She said we'd hear things like,

"'This kid of mine is never going to change. I may as well forget it -- the more I pray the worse he acts.'

'This marriage is just simply not going to work out. I absolutely cannot put up with any more of this. I am going to leave if one more thing happens. If necessary, I will get a divorce.'

'It never fails. Every time I get a little money, some disaster comes along and takes it all away.'

'I just can't hear from God; He never speaks to me.'

'Nobody loves me. It looks like I am destined to be lonely all my life.'

Yet at the same time we are making such negative statements, we claim that we are believing for our children, our marriages, and our finances, that we are believing to be led by the Spirit and to find our lifetime mate." (Joyce Meyer, Me and My Big Mouth: Your Answer Is Right Under Your Nose, p 54-58)

If we expect better things in our lives, then we need to be thinking better thoughts and speaking positive things. In life, we don't get what we want; we get what we expect in our hearts!

Don't Give Up, Your Not Alone

The second piece of advice David gave Solomon was "Be strong and of a 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 has finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord." (1 Chronicles 28:20)

Be strong, be courageous, DO IT! You're not alone. That's advice that we all can take. When the Lord gives you a message, a direction or a plan, lay aside your fears and just DO IT. The Lord will not fail you nor forsake you. All of the work necessary will be completed according to God's plan and in His time.

There is so much rich symbolism in the story of Solomon's temple that we can apply to accomplishing anything that the Lord has asked us to do -- any righteous desire of our hearts.

1. It all starts with a thought -- an idea or plan given by the Spirit. (1 Chronicles 28:12)
2. Give it time When you start out, you'll rarely have everything you need to make the plan a reality. You'll need to gather materials, relationships and experience just as David gathered materials for the temple.
3. You must remain faithful or someone else may be called to finish what you started. (1 Chronicles 28:3-4)
4. Write down your plans. A goal that isn't written is simply a wish. (1 Chronicles 28:11-12,19)
5. Support your plan with your thoughts Use the thoughts and imaginations of your heart to envision your objective and keep a positive, faithful frame of mind that feeds your plan. (1 Chronicles 28:9)
6. Be Strong and Do it. The Lord is on your side (1 Chronicles 28:10, 20) The Lord will not fail you nor forsake you throughout the entire process.