1 Kings 10-11
1 Kings Chapter 10 tells of how abundantly God blessed Solomon in all that he did and had. Solomon was more blessed than any king that ever lived before or after. Then, in chapter 11, we see how grateful and faithful Solomon was for all of his life because of God’s abundant blessing…..or not. Actually, it was quite the opposite. It seems that Solomon became complacent and somehow managed to be unsatisfied in spite of all he had. He pursued women – lots of them. And in pursuing them and attempting to please them, he gave of his time, efforts, and resources to many other gods.
This takes me back to Proverbs 30. Agur asked for neither too much nor too little to keep him from sinning against God. He was concerned he would either deny his need for God or steal and profane God’s name. Solomon clearly fell in the “too much” camp. King David’s life, in contrast to Solomon’s, seemed full of constant strife. Maybe that was something of a blessing for David. Perhaps part of the reason David stayed so devoted to God throughout his whole life was because he was constantly aware of his need for Him. David could have, of course, cursed God and become bitter over his hardships, but that is another issue. The question for me here is, can we live abundantly blessed lives without turning away from the God who blesses us (or biting the hand that feeds us, so to speak)? I think not without great intentionality.
The longer I live, the more importance I see in living life intentionally. An easy thing to speak of, but not such an easy thing to do somehow. I am convinced, though, that the sure foundation of an intentional life – in all areas of life – is consistent time spent in prayer and God’s Word. It all starts with intentionally and sincerely seeking God every.single.day. And I think the next step is to recognize and remember God moments in your life. Blessings, breakthroughs, moments of peace and joy, answered prayers. Any way that God reveals Himself to you as you live your life. This will solidify the truth that God is with you always. And it will help you to remember that truth when you just don’t feel it or when you get too comfortable. Intentional living…yeah, I want to do that.
Acts 8:26-40
I love Philip’s ready obedience in this passage. First, an angel of the Lord tells him to get up and go to a desert road somewhere south of Jerusalem. The Bible says, “he rose and went” (vs 27a). No questions, complaints, or hesitations. When he got there, he was to go and join a chariot making its way down the road. “So Philip ran to him…” (vs. 30a). Yes, ran – to some total stranger (a foreigner of some importance, no less) on some desert road. He then readily engaged the man, a eunuch of the court of the Ethiopian queen, in conversation. His obedience led to his giving testimony of the good news about Jesus and to the salvation of this eunuch.
Philip didn’t worry about what he was going to do or say. He simply obeyed God’s direction. He let God set the stage for him, giving him both the opportunity and the message. My tendency, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this, is to want to have everything figured out before I obey. I want to know the where, when, what, how, and why before I take action. I want to be prepared so that I don’t mess anything up. But this isn’t the pattern of obedience that I see over and over again in the Bible – from Abraham to this instance with Philip and so many places in between. It’s called acting on faith. When God asks us to do something, we can either be obedient to our fears or we can be obedient to faith – our choice. Dear Lord, teach me to be obedient to faith!