Today’s Prayer to Passage comes from the book ‘Facing Your Giants’ by Max Lucado.

Today I pray, “Dear God, At this time in history, how do we face our giants? Amen.”

Following my prayer, I held the closed book in my hands, concentrating on my prayer, and opened it to page 159 to reveal this passage:

“DASHED HOPES
‘I had intended…’
The David who speaks the words is old. The hands that swung the sling hang limp. The feet that danced before the ark now shuffle. Though his eyes are still sharp, his hair is grey, and skin sags beneath his beard.
‘I had intended…’
A large throng listens. Courtiers, counselors, chamberlains, and caretakers. They’ve assembled at David’s command. The king is tired. The time for his departure is near. They listen as he speaks.
‘I had intended to build….’
Odd way to start a farewell speech. David mentions not what he did but what he wanted to do, yet couldn’t. ‘I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God’ (I Chron. 28:2 NASB).”
—MAX LUCADO

Dashed hopes are shared among all of humanity throughout history. Yet, so is hope. The David who became a humble hero when he conquered hulking Goliath with five stones was a hero in context. His intention was to live for the glory of God. Today, however, David would be completely out of context. Killing? Cheating? Stealing? All while holding a seat of power? As much as we do have really bad apples seeded throughout leadership and celebrity positions today, media and social media squelch the celebrated and followed pretense of anyone whose actions emerge similar to David’s.

Unethical behavior is an obstacle to accomplishing what we came here to complete. If we desire to leave the world a better place than we found it, that sort of peace begins by allowing “the times” to work in our favor. We are not looking to build a temple to house a 4 x 2.5 ft gilded chest with coveted powers provisioned by God and advanced by Moses. We’ve got Smartphones in our pockets. Yet there is something to be said of what is Sacred from the past. A covenant is a promise.

A covenant can be housed by each and every one of us. Humanity’s hope. We cannot lose hope that there will be peace. Today, we are continuing to counter fear with fear, killing with killing. Sign of the times. We haven’t quite crossed over into other — more peaceful — solutions. Yet we are nearer than a stone’s throw.

The Advent of the New Covenant, peace for all people, is upon us. At this time, we are more advanced toward a peaceful mindset, unity and prayer. We are alive at a time when people are killed, starved, terrified, and forgotten, yet we are all united as a humanity so loved by God that a Promise was given. A wooden box finished with gold is out of context. A wooden cross finished with eternal forgiveness, no matter how many times we go astray? That is the same yesterday, today, and forever.