Scripture: 1 Kings 3: 5, 9-14 5 That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
....9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— 12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
Application: It is so hard to be humble. We struggle to recognize that we don't have it all together and to admit this to ourselves and to God is often so difficult. God asked Solomon to ask for anything, Solomon could have asked for anything but instead he asked for wisdom to rule well. God gave him wisdom AND riches AND fame. It was way more than Solomon asked for and way more than he deserved but that's how God works. When my oldest daughter considered Bible college thousands of miles away, I was so nervous to let her go. She was not the most studious person and I didn't feel like her faith went too deep. As she prepared to leave, I prayed specifically for this experience to deepen her faith, for this experience to cause her to make her faith her own instead of just something she grew up with, and for her to really listen to God's calling. God is so good. During her time there, she grew in her faith, chose to get baptized, and really felt God calling her back for a second semester. God is faithful to answer our prayers when we are humble and realize that we cannot do life on our own. Letting my daughter go is still a difficult struggle but when I am drawn to my knees realizing that my kids are not my own I am learning that God loves them even more than I do and that I can trust that He had a bigger and better plan than I could have ever imagined for them. This song has been resonating with me over these months of letting go, especially this part:
Oh, how You love me
Somehow that frees me
To take my hands off of my life
And the way it should go
Prayer: God, you are so good. Help us to submit to Your plan and trust Your ways with our lives and the lives of our kids. When we trust You and lean on You we are rewarded in such magnificent ways beyond our wildest dreams. Be with each of us during this learning process of taking our hands off of our lives and what we have planned to make room for what You have in store for us. Amen
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: 1 Chronicles 28-29, Acts 16
1 comment:
This is so true Pamela. Trusting God with our children can definitely seem very hard - but remembering that He loves them even more than we do, and that His plan for them is perfect, can only help!
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