Our Daily Bread: Picking Up the Pieces After Job Loss

1 Chronicles 28:9-20

9 And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] you will find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever!

10 Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it!

11 Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner rooms, and of the place for the [ark and its] mercy seat;

12 And the plan of all that he had in mind [by the Spirit] for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for the dedicated gifts;

13 The plan for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for service in the house of the Lord:

14 The weight of gold and silver for all the gold and silver articles of every kind of service–

15 The weight of the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold or silver for each lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand;

16 The gold by weight for each table of showbread, and the silver for the tables of silver;

17 Also pure gold for the forks, basins, and cups; for the golden bowls by weight of each; for the silver bowls by weight of each;

18 For the incense altar refined gold by weight, and gold for the plan of the chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the Lord's covenant.

19 All this the Lord made me understand by the writing by His hand upon me, all the work to be done according to the plan.

20 Also David told Solomon his son, Be strong and courageous, and do it. Fear not, be not dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail or forsake you until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

Devotional

WHITEWATER EXPERIENCES: I was enjoying the start of my first whitewater rafting experience until I heard the roar of the rapids up ahead. My emotions were flooded with feelings of uncertainty, fear, and insecurity at the same time. Riding through the whitewater was a firstrate, white-knuckle experience! And then, suddenly, it was over. The guide in the back of the raft had navigated us through. I was safe, at least until the next set of rapids.
Transitions in our lives are like whitewater. The inevitable leaps from one season of life to the next, college to career, singleness to marriage, career to retirement, marriage to widowhood, are all marked by uncertainty and insecurity.
In one of the most significant transitions recorded in Old Testament history, Solomon assumed the throne from his father David. I'm sure he was filled with white-knuckle uncertainty about the future. His father's advice? "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; . . . for the LORD God, my God, will be with you" (1 CHRONICLES 28:20).
You'll have your fair share of tough transitions in life. But with God in your raft you're not alone. Keep your eyes on the One who is navigating the rapids. He's taken lots of others through before. Smooth waters are just ahead. -Joe Stowell
God will guide you through the rapids of change.