David and Yoda
The most famous quote from Yoda in all the Star Wars movies is: “No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.” It’s an admonition not to be wishy-washy—but rather committed. A similar old saying is, “I’ll do it or die trying.” Probably, preachers love this quotation from Yoda because they have all heard the following phrase about 17,000 times, “I’ll try to be there for worship on Sunday.” Any guesses on how many people who uttered those words actually showed up? A fair estimate would be fewer than 10%. Why? Could the reason be that there is no commitment in, “l’ll try”?
Long before Yoda came into existence, King David had a goal. He wanted to build a temple to God, but God denied him permission to do so. God would allow his son to build that house, however—and David could start collecting the materials for it. As his death approached, David encouraged Solomon to build the temple, thus making his dream a reality. Below are words that David did not say to his son.
Solomon, my son, becoming king will be a great challenge, and you are young. Surround yourself with wise counsellors. Listen carefully to what they tell you. Your generals know how to fight wars; trust in their judgment. And if, amid all the duties of state, you can find the time, try to build the temple.
Sounds like a built-in excuse for failure, doesn’t it? Forty years later, one can envision Solomon telling his son, “My father David had a grand idea about building the temple, but I didn’t get much done because other things got in my way. So, I’m turning the project over to you, Rehoboam. Try to get the temple built.” At this rate, there would have never been a temple to destroy in 586 B.C. The actual, more forceful words of David are provided below.
And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord” (1 Chron. 28:20, emphasis gws).
Solomon is known for his wisdom, but David was no slouch, either. He left his son no room to wiggle out of the charge he gave him. Be strong. Have courage. Do it! Oh, yes, and in case you don’t think you’re up to such a gigantic task, my God (you know, the One Who helped me kill Goliath) will be with you. He doesn’t fail; so, neither will you. He will not forsake you—so, no excuses! There is no try. Do it. And he did. David’s God is with us, also. Are we succeeding?