The following is a sermon I wrote and preached on a recent Sunday morning while my pastor was on vacation. It is based on 1 Kings 3:5-12 - the story of Solomon asking for wisdom. I welcome your questions and comments on how it speaks to your own experiences and spiritual journey! You can leave feedback below or on the Contact page.
I was excited to see the story of Solomon asking for wisdom as an option for our scripture reading in the lectionary for this morning. It is a story I have loved ever since I first heard it as a child! Imagine God came to you in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” What would you ask for? A car? A new house? Your dream job? Solomon’s story is not just any open-ended wish-granting opportunity, though. He encounters God after he completes a religious inauguration ceremony. Solomon had just been made king after his father David had died, and he was humbly seeking God’s blessing and assistance in this new role. Some scholars have traditionally thought Solomon was very young, maybe only in his teens when he became king. In any case, it’s clear from his words that he considers himself to be very inexperienced in the tasks that were before him. In those days, being king was more than just waving in parades and wearing a crown. Being king came with heavy responsibilities, including serving as a judge. People from all over the kingdom were going to be coming to Solomon with their problems and looking to him for guidance. On top of this, he was also under the weight of living up to his father David’s successes as king, dealing with a jealous brother who believed he should have been king instead, and Solomon was trying to assert his authority among other leaders who were not loyal to him. This would be a lot for anyone to handle, let alone someone who lacked experience. Even if we haven’t been made king of anything, I think many of us can relate to the situation of being put in a position that we do not feel prepared for (maybe a new job, entering into marriage, becoming a parent, transitioning into a caregiving role for a family member). On a larger level, I’m sure most of us can relate to feeling like something we are facing is too much for us. Have you faced something that made you feel overwhelmed or unprepared? Perhaps there is a need, a task, or a responsibility you are being faced with right now? Are you feeling up to meeting the challenge? When we are overwhelmed and unprepared for something, we have a choice in how we handle that situation. Pull ourselves up by our bootstraps? Bluff our way through it? Find someone else to do it? Do we hide? Solomon chose to face his situation with humility, admit his weakness, and seek God’s blessing and assistance. It’s in this context that God came to Solomon in a dream, which was a form of divine communication, and God said to Solomon, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” If we were in Solomon’s shoes, how many of us would have asked for wisdom in this situation? It seems like some of the other options mentioned in this passage would have been very appealing – wealth, long life, or the defeat of enemies. Surely those things would be helpful if you’re trying to be successful as a new, inexperienced king. But Solomon chose instead to seek the spiritual gift of wisdom. God was pleased with Solomon’s choice and blessed him. Ever since I first heard this story in Sunday school, I had always thought this experience represented God bestowing this gift of philosophical, intellectual wisdom on Solomon, and I had in mind a sermon extolling the virtues of deep spirituality and study in the pursuit of personal spiritual growth. I thought that this was the kind of wisdom that God had provided to Solomon to succeed in the difficult tasks he faced. As so often happens when I think I have it all figured out, God interrupted my plans! I learned that the original Hebrew translation of “wisdom” in this passage is actually pointing to the ability to tell right from wrong. It’s a practical wisdom that helps someone administer justice—we also call it discernment, or listening in order to form a judgment based on divine principles. Very useful, but not very glamorous! Now, the personal lesson I had planned for did not match what the scripture was saying! I found myself asking, “Now what?” And I heard God say, ‘You’re missing the point!” And it was then that the Holy Spirit began teaching me a new lesson, one that speaks to my heart and the journey I have been on, and one that I pray will speak to you today as well. When I first heard the story of Solomon asking God for wisdom, I didn’t understand the context of his situation, so I mistakenly put him on a pedestal in my mind. I admired him for his noble commitment to pursuing personal spiritual growth through the gift of wisdom. There is a time and purpose for philosophical wisdom in our spiritual lives. At this moment, though, that is not what Solomon needed. He did not come to God as part of a personal time of spiritual growth. He came to God in need, under extreme pressure, overwhelmed by his situation. He had a job to do, and the staggering weight of it brought him to his knees. The strongest weapon, the most fitting tool Solomon could be equipped with for this huge task of administering justice was the practical wisdom of a discerning mind. God gave him exactly what he needed. As someone who often feels overwhelmed, THAT is encouraging to hear! I have been in situations where I have felt like I’m in over my head with life. Whether it’s the pressure of expectations, the sheer amount of things to accomplish, or being afraid that I am not qualified enough to fulfill a certain role, I have felt completely overwhelmed at times in my life to the point where it has brought me to my knees. Maybe you can think of times in your life where you have felt like this too. In those times, if someone comes to me and offers advice or help, it better meet me where I am and actually be useful, otherwise I’m not interested! Sometimes we may avoid the advice and help of others completely because we are sure that no one else understands our situation. We may feel convinced that anything they might offer us will just be frustrating and unhelpful. Sometimes we may even feel this way about seeking God’s help in the difficult times in life. It is a challenge to consistently seek God first in our lives. We can sometimes fall into a pattern of seeking God in times of calm when we feel there is room for Him in our schedules. But when a crisis comes and life gets hectic, we can go into survival mode, try to put out all the fires and keep all the plates spinning, and seeking God gets pushed aside for later, once things calm down again. I don’t have time to go to Bible study, worship in church, pray… I have some real needs right in front me that need to be met right now! I have to take care of them! Maybe I will seek God tomorrow…maybe next week…maybe when I retire… When I am feeling overwhelmed in my life, seeking God first can seem like just one more demand to meet. How can I make time to seek God first when I am responsible for all these other things? I can’t focus long enough to read more than a verse or two of scripture, I listen to worship songs and sermons but the words don’t sink in, and my only prayer sounds like breathing, “God help me!” How can I possibly find time and energy to seek God first? Maybe some of you have felt that way at times too. Maybe you are sitting here feeling that way right now today. You are not alone. Life has many challenges and burdens that bring us down into valleys, or at the least keep us trudging forward in the ongoing everyday busyness of our lives. As much as I love to spend time with God on the mountaintop in times of calm and peace, our God is not just for retreats and spare time when we feel we have leftover resources to be able to seek Him. He is God with us and for us, Emmanuel. God stands with us in the trenches of life, ready to help us face our battles when we are worn down and our backs are against the wall. God comes to us when we are on our knees. Seeking God is not a hobby or a luxury. It is not something done by a privileged few. It is a command for all of us who follow Christ to seek God first every single day! Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, “Seek first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well…” He was speaking to the masses, the crowd of everyday people who had gathered to hear him. He said, “seek FIRST God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness.” THEN all these other things, the earthly needs and responsibilities we spend so much time worrying about and trying to accomplish on our own, God will help us with those too. God meets us in our need and gives us what we need. Solomon sought God first. God met Solomon in his need and gave him exactly what he needed to meet the challenges that overwhelmed him. Then, on top of that, God granted him other earthly blessings as well—riches, honor, and a long life. If we have been forgetting to seek God first and instead have been trying to take care of everything on our own, let’s remember that God can meet us in our need with what we need. He may not meet it in the way we expect, but He will take care of us and provide what is needed. I challenge all of us to seek God first in our lives this week. We can learn from Solomon that God will give us exactly what we need to face the tasks, responsibilities, and challenges in our lives. What God provides may not make them easy or comfortable, but they will become possible with God’s help. If we seek God first and humbly admit that we cannot face these things alone, but we need His help, God is ready and waiting to give us what we need. May we all seek God first today and always, Amen.
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AuthorRachel is a wife, mom, and follower of Christ. She is active in lay leadership in the United Methodist Church. Archives
October 2017
Categories© Rachel Yochum and Bible Bridge Ministry, 2017. All rights reserved.
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