“While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. Then he said: ‘Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with His own hand has fulfilled what He promise with His own mouth to my father David. For he said, ‘since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’ But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood - he is the one to build the temple for my Name.’ ‘The LORD has kept the promise He made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that HE made with our fat hers when he brought them out of Egypt.” ( 1 Kings 8:14-21, NIV)
Once again it is Thanksgiving. Today most of us will share a big meal with our families, we will sit around the table and possibly talk about things we are thankful for, the good times we have had through the year, the prosperity that we have shared, and for many the good health they have had. Are we really thankful for the important things in our lives?
In our text for today, we see that Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel, reminds the people of God’s promise to them, the promise that not only would he succeed his father to the throne, but that he would in fact, be the one to build a temple to the Lord. God had made that promise, and he had made it possible for Solomon to build the temple. Notice that the king stated that he had built the temple, but that he had provided a place for the ark of the covenant, the covenant that had been made between God and man.
As we think about this, we must think about the faithfulness of God, not only during the time of the Israelite nation before the coming of Christ, but we must think about the faithfulness of God today. The other evening I had the opportunity to talk with a young woman who has suffered more hardship and more heartache in the last year than most of us will experience in our entire lifetime. She said to me; “God has been with me through it all, and I believe I am a better person and a better Christian and closer to God because of what I have lived through.” You see, she not only trusted the Lord to help her through some very difficult times, she believed the promise that God has made to His people, the promise to be at her side no matter what the circumstances were. She also said; “Praise the Lord, there is victory through His grace.” What wonderful faith, what wonderful trust, what a wonderful commitment, not only to serving the Lord, but for realizing His faithfulness in keeping His promises to us.
Should we, at the time of the year when we are thankful for what we have, be very thankful for the faithfulness of our God? Should we take time to thank Him, not only for the gift of his Son that made it possible for us to share in eternal life in His presence, but also for being with us through the past year, not only in difficult times, but also in good times? Should we take time to thank Him for what He has given us? Should we take time to than Him for our accomplishments through the year? Should we thank Him for the strength He gave us through the power of the Holy Spirit to do His will?
I believe that it is time that we thank God for all He has done for us, for His faithfulness, and I believe it is time that we make a commitment to be as faithful to God as He is to us. I believe that our thankfulness to God should not come just at Thanksgiving time, but every day for the rest of our lives.
Let us take time our of our busy Thanksgiving day to have a special time of talking with our Lord, thanking Him for His faithfulness. Let us make a commitment today to thank God every day from this day forward for what He has done for us, what He means to us, and let us Let us commit in our hearts today to be as faithful to Him as He is to us. Let us make this Thanksgiving day the most special one we have ever experienced.
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