Hey Y'all! I miss the many responses with all the added insight!
1st Kings chapter 3.
King Solomon goes before the Lord and the Lord asks Solomon what he would like for Him to do for him.
Before he answers the question he refers to himself to the Lord as a servant of the Lord. He recognizes how important it is for him to walk in obedience to God.
As he works towards giving his answer he admits to the Lord that his job is extremely overwhelming and he is in great need of wisdom which he asks for.
For me today:
1. I need wisdom to run a camp. It can be very overwhelming plus I recognize my flaws and mistakes easily.
2. I want to be a true servant of the Lord where my focus goes on other people so that I am in some way helping them in their need. Whether it be helping them out with a given task or sharing the gospel with my words.
3. I want to be obedient to the Lord with my life choices and actions so that I am pleasing in his sight. I don't want anything to ruin the Ministry God has called me to.
Solomon made the best choice in asking for wisdom and God was pleased to bless him with even more than what was asked for. Solomon showed his great wisdom as he handled the situation with the prostitutes that were disputing about who was the true mother of the living baby. That made me think more about how Jesus was always showing wisdom in His brilliant responses to the Pharisees when they were trying to trip Him up such as when they asked Him about paying taxes to Caesar.
As I am starting a new job this month, I feel a bit like Solomon must have felt in this chapter as I face the new adventure that lies ahead. It’s not that the job has the kind of responsibilities that would come with being a king, but there is still much for me to learn and I want to do well. I realize that I need wisdom and God is the source of it all. As Pastor Blair shared already, I also want to be a wise, obedient, and true servant of the Lord who helps people in their need. While Solomon is known as the wisest man who ever lived other than Jesus, God still gives wisdom to us today.
I’m reminded of James 1:5-6.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
Solomon asked God for wisdom to do his job; he didn’t ask God to do the job for him. We shouldn’t ask God to do for us what He wants to do through us. (How many times have I done exactly that?) Instead, we should ask God to give us wisdom to know what to do and the courage to follow through on it.
Jesus taught us that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, everything else we need will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). Solomon’s prayer is proof of that. He didn’t ask for himself. He asked for the kingdom and the Lord was pleased.
I apologize for sharing this a bit late but I want to encourage you to add a daily devotion for December. Read a chapter of Luke every day through Christmas. There are 24 chapters so that will take you up to Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, read chapter 2 again. Again, I apologize for the delay in sharing as you’ll need to catch up on a few chapters but I think you will be blessed for the refresher on the birth, life and ministry of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is a great family devotion. (Smile on my face; joy in my heart)