May 16 I Tuesday

2 Kings 24-25

John 5:1-24

“Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.”    —Proverbs 3:13-14

If we could have anything we want in this world, what would it be? Riches? Fame? Popularity? God posed this very question to Solomon in a dream: “Ask for whatever you want Me to give you.” That is an amazing statement from God, as if God was giving Solomon a blank cheque. Solomon answered, “Now, LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:5-9).

       Solomon could have asked for whatever he wanted from the Lord. He could have had victory in battle, wealth or long life, but instead, Solomon asked for a discerning heart—wisdom. Why did Solomon choose wisdom over all else? We find the answer in this touching story from his boyhood: “For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. Then he taught me, and he said to me, ‘Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them’” (Proverbs 4:3-5). Solomon’s father, David, taught him as a child to seek wisdom and understanding. It is no surprise, then, when Solomon became king and God appeared to him, ready to give Solomon whatever he wanted, that he would choose wisdom over all things.

       Solomon was not the wisest man in the world in his day by accident. He was the wisest man because he sought after wisdom. In fact, Solomon’s wisdom was a spiritual gift from God. In the New Testament, James tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). There is a prerequisite to us asking for wisdom: recognition of our own lack of it. If we lack wisdom, have the guts to admit we lack wisdom, and come and ask God for wisdom, then God will give it to us.

       God granted Solomon’s request and “gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29). If any of us lack wisdom, may we humbly go to the Lord and ask for it.

Prayer: Almighty God, I admit my lack of wisdom and ask that You would graciously bestow, as You have promised, wisdom to me. Thank You, God.