Faithfulness In Hidden Places Series

INTRODUCTION

There's a moment in Scripture that most people overlook, but it's one of the most powerful pictures of faithfulness I've ever encountered. King David is getting old. His days are numbered. He knows he's not going to live to see his greatest dream fulfilled. God told him, "David, you're a man of war. You've shed too much blood. You're not the one who's going to build My temple. Your son will build it."

Can you imagine that? You spend your whole life serving God. You defeat giants. You unite a nation. You bring the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. You worship God with everything in you. And then God says, "The thing you want to do most? You're not going to get to do it. Your son will."

Most people would've quit right there. Most people would've said, "Fine. If I can't build it, I'm not going to help. Let Solomon figure it out on his own." But not David. Because David understood something that many of us are still learning: faithfulness in hidden places matters.

Turn with me to 1 Chronicles 28 and 29. In these chapters, we see David doing something remarkable. Even though he won't live to see the temple completed, even though his name won't be on the building, even though Solomon will get all the credit, David spends his final years preparing everything his son will need to succeed.

He gathers the materials. He designs the blueprints. He organizes the workers. He secures the gold and silver. He does all the hidden work, all the behind-the-scenes preparation, all the stuff nobody will ever see or thank him for. Why? Because David's prayer life had taught him that what matters to God matters, whether anyone else notices or not.

This morning, I want to talk to you about faithfulness in hidden places. Because your prayer life, the thing nobody sees, the time you spend alone with God when there's no audience, no applause, no recognition, that hidden place is where your faithfulness is truly tested. And what you do in the hidden place determines what God can do through you in the public place.

Let's pray.

I. THE HIDDEN WORK NOBODY SEES

Look at 1 Chronicles 28:11-19. David calls Solomon and gives him the plans for the temple. But notice what the Bible says: "David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms, and the place of atonement. He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind."

All that the Spirit had put in his mind. This wasn't something David came up with on his own. This wasn't David's grand architectural vision. This was a revelation. This was something God showed David in the secret place, in those hidden moments of prayer, in those times when nobody was watching, and David was simply seeking God's face.

For years, David had been meeting with God in secret. For years, he'd been praying about this temple. For years, he'd been receiving these plans, piece by piece, detail by detail, blueprint by blueprint. And nobody knew. Nobody was watching. Nobody was taking notes. It was just David and God in the hidden place.

And now, at the end of his life, David takes all of that hidden work and hands it to his son. "Here's what God showed me. Here's what I've been preparing. Here's the fruit of my prayer life that nobody's seen."

Church, can I tell you something? What you do in secret determines what God can trust you with in public. Your hidden prayer life, the discipline nobody sees, the time you spend with God when there's no recognition, that's where God shapes you, molds you, prepares you for what He's called you to do.

David could've become bitter. He could've said, "God, why won't You let me build this? I'm the one who wanted it. I'm the one who planned it. I'm the one who's been faithful." But David understood that faithfulness isn't about getting credit. Faithfulness is about doing what God asks you to do, whether you're the one who gets to finish it or not.

How many of us are faithful only when we know we're going to get the recognition? How many of us are willing to serve only when our name is on the building? How many of us pray only when people are watching?

David teaches us that true faithfulness happens in hidden places. It happens in the prayer closet when nobody's there but you and God. It happens in those early morning hours when you're seeking God's face, and nobody knows but you. It happens when you're doing the work that needs to be done, even if someone else gets the credit.