BIBLE READING: 1Kings
3-5
We live in a world where we are constantly told that we are
enough. You see it all over social media. You hear you have within you
everything you need to succeed in life. However, the Christian mindset should
be the complete opposite. You do not have within you everything you need to be
successful at life. If you were enough, then Jesus died for nothing, and the
cross is pointless. Jesus is the only one who is enough, and is the only one
who could ever live up to what a successful life should look like. We will
always miss the mark. We will always fall short. But thanks be to God that
Jesus is enough. Through Him, and Him alone, we can do what God has called us
to. Through Him, we can find true peace and meaning in our lives. If we look
for fulfillment in anything else but Him, we will never find it. If we look for
affirmation from anyone else, we will never be filled. If we look for
recognition from anyone else, we will never be complete. It is only through
Jesus that we find any of these things. It is through the life of Solomon that
we see this mindset in action. When God comes to Solomon in a dream and asks
what He can give him, Solomon comes with a humble mindset and asks for the
following:
“You have
shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he
walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of
heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and
have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you
have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a
little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in
the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be
numbered or counted for multitude. 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 3:6-9
Solomon was
able to recognize the gift that had been entrusted to him. He knew that the
task in front of him was a huge responsibility. He was following in the
footsteps of his Father who had been called a man after God’s own heart. But
instead of looking inward, he looks upward. Solomon knew he would never have
what it takes to be able to do what God had called him to. Solomon would never
be enough for the task at hand. He says, “I do not know how to go out or come
in.” He was willing to admit his inability. Then, he asks for the greatest gift
he could think of, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern
your people, that I may discern between good and evil.” He knew if he was to be
successful at what he was called to do, it would be impossible without the
Creator of all things. Solomon looked to the only source of success, the only
place of true understanding, the only reason why we are even called. Solomon
understood that apart from the Source he would never amount to anything. -Selected