The Right Request
“Give Your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern Your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this Your great people?"—1 Kings 3:9
The great King, King David, had just died and Solomon, his son, became king in his place. He was not first in line to receive the crown, but God purposed him to be king nonetheless. At the onset of his reign, Solomon went to sacrifice to the Lord at the altar at Gibeon (the Temple wasn’t finished yet), when God appeared to him in a dream by night and said, “Ask what I shall give you”—1 Kings 3:5. Let’s stop for a moment and ask ourselves the question, “What would I ask for?” Can you imagine?! The God of the universe is making Himself available to your request, to your desires, and you would ask for what? Solomon could have asked for power or pleasure, but he didn’t. He asked for wisdom to rule God’s people (v. 9), and because of the purity of his request, God grants to him not only an understanding mind, but gives him what he didn’t ask for—riches and honor (v. 13). Solomon goes on to be known as the wisest king who ever lived, uttering some 3,000 proverbs and composing 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), showing such displays of knowledge and wisdom that individuals from the world over sought an audience with him (1 Kings 10:1-13).
Solomon received God’s blessing because he made the right request before Him. He didn’t seek fame, fortune or the fleeting pleasures of sin; he set his heart to love the Lord. His request foreshadowed Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” He sought to trust in the Lord with all of his heart, acknowledging and honoring God above all else (Proverbs 3:5-6), requesting the ability to rule God’s people with righteousness, justice and equity. And when we honor God above everything else in our lives, our pursuit and passions placed entirely upon Him—He honors us. God delights in making Himself known to His people when we seek Him, because we are revealing that He is more worthy than anything in this life has to offer. God is our delight, our joy, and our very great reward. Heaven will only be heaven because He is there, and we pursue Him because in Him is the joy which He created us to experience in His presence.
My brother or sister, is God—as revealed in Christ—your consuming passion? Is the request of your life to know Him more? Are you seeking Him above all things? Having Christ as our consuming passion doesn’t mean that we are monks and nuns cut off from the world. Rather, pursuing Christ means making Him the focal point, ordering our lives under His Lordship, making His Word the GPS by which we navigate our lives. We do not ask Him for riches or fame, but we ask to know Him more (Philippians 3:10), assured that as we pursue and order our lives for Him, everything else will be taken care of. Amen.
The great King, King David, had just died and Solomon, his son, became king in his place. He was not first in line to receive the crown, but God purposed him to be king nonetheless. At the onset of his reign, Solomon went to sacrifice to the Lord at the altar at Gibeon (the Temple wasn’t finished yet), when God appeared to him in a dream by night and said, “Ask what I shall give you”—1 Kings 3:5. Let’s stop for a moment and ask ourselves the question, “What would I ask for?” Can you imagine?! The God of the universe is making Himself available to your request, to your desires, and you would ask for what? Solomon could have asked for power or pleasure, but he didn’t. He asked for wisdom to rule God’s people (v. 9), and because of the purity of his request, God grants to him not only an understanding mind, but gives him what he didn’t ask for—riches and honor (v. 13). Solomon goes on to be known as the wisest king who ever lived, uttering some 3,000 proverbs and composing 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), showing such displays of knowledge and wisdom that individuals from the world over sought an audience with him (1 Kings 10:1-13).
Solomon received God’s blessing because he made the right request before Him. He didn’t seek fame, fortune or the fleeting pleasures of sin; he set his heart to love the Lord. His request foreshadowed Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” He sought to trust in the Lord with all of his heart, acknowledging and honoring God above all else (Proverbs 3:5-6), requesting the ability to rule God’s people with righteousness, justice and equity. And when we honor God above everything else in our lives, our pursuit and passions placed entirely upon Him—He honors us. God delights in making Himself known to His people when we seek Him, because we are revealing that He is more worthy than anything in this life has to offer. God is our delight, our joy, and our very great reward. Heaven will only be heaven because He is there, and we pursue Him because in Him is the joy which He created us to experience in His presence.
My brother or sister, is God—as revealed in Christ—your consuming passion? Is the request of your life to know Him more? Are you seeking Him above all things? Having Christ as our consuming passion doesn’t mean that we are monks and nuns cut off from the world. Rather, pursuing Christ means making Him the focal point, ordering our lives under His Lordship, making His Word the GPS by which we navigate our lives. We do not ask Him for riches or fame, but we ask to know Him more (Philippians 3:10), assured that as we pursue and order our lives for Him, everything else will be taken care of. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment