Today’s Reading, 1 Kings 10-11
Focal Scripture: 1 Kings 10:1 “The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of the Lord and came to test him with difficult questions.”
Success invites challenge. I have seen this in the sporting world and I have seen it in the church world. What happens is that the person or the organization that is doing everything correct will be challenged by others to see if the success is real. Or they will be challenged to try and tear them down. Doing things the right way and having success makes many people jealous. Which in turn makes them look for ways to try and knock that person down.
In today’s reading the Queen of Sheba came to test Solomon. She wanted to see if the wisdom was real. She came loaded with questions. I am sure she thought for days on how she would trip up Solomon. The questions were probably very difficult and tricky. However, he answered them all well and showed her that God was with him. This victory lead to great wealth and fame.
Unfortunately, Solomon was also tested and failed. He began to disobey the Lord and took on many wives that turned his heart from the Lord. He violated the Lord’s command. In all his wisdom he missed a simple instruction. Solomon’s fall didn’t come from not answering questions but from not applying God’s standard to his life.
The challenge for us as believers is to understand that our biggest battles will come from a place we are not expecting. Solomon was ready for difficult questions. He just wasn’t ready for practical application. He lost site of the expectation. He lost sight of God.
The same can happen to us when we are successful. We can do all the big things right but if we are not careful our hearts can get turned. Then we will end up worshipping what we shouldn’t. That will lead to idol worship and consequences for us and those around us in our lives.
The fall of most successful people are not from the big decisions that everyone sees. It is the small decisions that lead to an avalanche of pain and destruction.
What I hope you take away from this reading today is that we will be challenged. The enemy and our human enemies will poke around to find our weakness. This is why we must always be ready for battle and keep our hearts and minds focused on God.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading 1 Kings 12-14
