David: what to do

David said: “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced; but the house that is to be built for the LORD must be made so magnificent that it will be renowned and glorious in all lands. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” Thus before his death David laid up materials in abundance. -- I Chronicles 22:5 (NAB)

David loved the Lord with all his heart, so it must have been a great disappointment to have been told that he would not be the one to build the Temple. In particular, he might have wondered over the reason why he could not build it, because he was "a man of blood." After all, had he not been doing the Lord's will when he waged all those wars? Why should the Lord then hold it against him now?

But David did not rebel or grumble over the Lord's choice. Instead, he decided to do what he could to assist his son, by making preparations for the work that Solomon would have to do, laying up "materials in abundance."

The thought occurred to me a while back that I and others of the Elijah generation should do what David did -- help the Elishas by making preparations for the work that they will have to do. Part of those preparations come by being faithful, as David was, to the call that God has put on our lives now, which lays the groundwork for what the Elishas will do later. But the other thing that we can do is lay up "building materials" for them in the form of prayers and sacrifices, the graces of which they will then be able to draw on later.

Lord, please help me both to be faithful to what You are giving me to do now and to offer prayers and sacrifices for what You will be giving the Elishas to do later. Amen.