A Divided Heart
Solomon had the greatest blessings that God had to offer him. He had great wisdom and great wealth. God appeared to him twice to show Solomon just how important it was for him to remain completely faithful to the Lord. If anyone should have known what to do and been obedient, it was Solomon. However, the sad fact is that when he was old, his foreign wives turned his heart from the Lord, and his heart was no longer fully devoted to God, as was David's heart. (I Kings 11:4) It is very easy to drift from the Lord, so we must all guard against it diligently.
If we desire to be wholly devoted to the Lord and not have a divided heart, we must do at least two things. We must discipline ourselves to seek Him daily and obey all He tells us. This is in addition to our need to have close fellowship with other believers who will support us and hold us accountable. Also, we must not have close fellowship with those who will lead us astray into sin or into the worship of other things besides God alone. Sometimes, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are strong enough to not be influenced negatively by others, but that is never completely the case. Satan is wily, and he knows just how to find the cracks in our armor, so that we begin to go the wrong way. Therefore, we must be discerning about who we marry and who we have as close friends, or else we may find ourselves far from God like Solomon did, and we will experience God's punishment like he did, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 12-14.
If we desire to be wholly devoted to the Lord and not have a divided heart, we must do at least two things. We must discipline ourselves to seek Him daily and obey all He tells us. This is in addition to our need to have close fellowship with other believers who will support us and hold us accountable. Also, we must not have close fellowship with those who will lead us astray into sin or into the worship of other things besides God alone. Sometimes, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are strong enough to not be influenced negatively by others, but that is never completely the case. Satan is wily, and he knows just how to find the cracks in our armor, so that we begin to go the wrong way. Therefore, we must be discerning about who we marry and who we have as close friends, or else we may find ourselves far from God like Solomon did, and we will experience God's punishment like he did, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 12-14.