1 Kings 4:26-34
Solomon owned forty thousand
chariot horses and employed twelve thousand charioteers. Each month the
tax officials provided food for King Solomon and his court, also the
barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.
God gave
Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and a mind with broad interests.
In fact, his wisdom excelled that of any of the wise men of the East,
including those in Egypt. He was wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite and
Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was famous among all
the surrounding nations. He was the author of 3,000 proverbs and wrote
1,005 songs. He was a great naturalist, with interest in animals, birds,
snakes, fish, and trees—from the great cedars of Lebanon down to the
tiny hyssop which grows in cracks in the wall. And kings from many lands
sent their ambassadors to him for his advice.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Unless you live under a
rock, you’ve undoubtedly heard more than one person talk about how great
he/she is lately. The “news” has been filled with such
proclamations…from a rapper who thinks he can “bring beautiful ideas to
the world” if he can acquire $53 million and change from donors…to
politicians who claim that God has blessed and ordained them to save our
country…to countless pastors who are asking their congregants – and the
world at large – to make “offerings” to enable them to purchase jets,
homes, jewelry and other material luxuries that will “further the
Kingdom of God” in some way.
I know…I don’t get it either! But
here’s the thing. Look at all that King Solomon possessed. He was
wealthy and prestigious. He was brilliant…well-rounded…and he
apparently had common sense and understanding! Yes, Solomon was human –
and if you study his life through the scriptures, you will see that he
got a little too big for his britches and had to be taken down a notch
or two at times. But God ordained Solomon and used him in spite of his
occasional arrogance and foolishness.
If you have time, read the
first few chapters of Ecclesiastes. King Solomon writes about all of
the “virtues” and “things” that God gave him, such as wisdom,
prosperity, work to do (and slaves to do it!), and more. And he
concludes that these are all meaningless. In particular, start reading
in Ecclesiastes 9, as Solomon begins to summarize what he has
determined.
In Ecclesiastes 11:4-6, Solomon writes “If you wait
for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. God’s ways
are as mysterious as the pathway of the wind and as the manner in which a
human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet
in its mother’s womb. Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which
will grow—perhaps it all will.” And that is the point for today. God
may not give us the wealth and wisdom of King Solomon, but He has
planted seed in us that will grow according to His will – if we will
allow it and do the work that God has ordained. We may never be
celebrities on any scale. But God uses ordinary people to do
extraordinary things!
We don’t have to wait until we are out of
school…married and/or settled in a relationship. We don’t have to have
been a Christian for so many days/weeks/months/years…be debt free or
have a decent amount of money to pay our bills with a little left over.
We must start here…now…with what we have at this moment…and trust that
God will make the difference. Because He WILL!
We may never be
in the “King Solomon” category…but that doesn’t matter to God. He made
us who we are and can use us to do great things in His name, regardless
of our “status.” Are you ready to start “sowing seed” and let God work
in and through you? Isn’t it time you were?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label god uses ordinary people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label god uses ordinary people. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for September 6, 2012
James 2:24-26
You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way.
Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead!
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Early in the summer, a spotted toad appeared on our back porch. He took up residence in a decorative bird house we keep on a glass-topped coffee table sitting there. One night, I discovered him pressed belly-side down against one of our picture windows, catching bugs that collected there in the light from one of our table lamps. I did a little research and learned that “Frodo,” as I named him, is a Great Plains Toad. Most likely, he moved into the bird house because his normal habitat… moist, damp earth… was not available in this summer’s drought.
I so hoped that Frodo would hang around for Timothy’s visit in August… and he did. We enjoyed watching Frodo – and his new cohort we dubbed “Little Frodo” – as they moved in and out of the bird house. We laughed as we watched “Big Frodo” attach to our picture window at night and catch bugs. Frodo grew accustomed to us, and I even put out water for him in a little dish on the table. I know he enjoyed it, because we would find it splashed across the table the next day.
After Timothy went home, we were a little lonesome. Remnants of a hurricane threatened to move things around on our back porch, so we did some rearranging before the storm hit. My husband gently moved the bird house to the porch floor underneath the coffee table and surrounded it with bricks. Frodo played on the bricks and around the bird house… and then he disappeared. For several days, the toads were gone. I know it’s silly, but I was truly sad and missed them. I had grown fond of looking for them peering from the bird house opening each morning. I missed seeing the toad on the window at night. And I was a little worried… what had happened to Frodo during the storm’s wind and rain?
My answer came four days later when I happened to pass the window, and there was Frodo… perched inside the bird house with his head hanging out. He was back! He probably took refuge in one of our many potted plants on the porch. But I was so glad to see him. And I felt God saying, “I take care of my creatures… ALL of them.”
I know this is a little bit of a weird analogy, but I have faithfully taken care of this little toad and his buddy most of the summer. And yes, he is just a toad… but God has used him to teach me a couple of lessons about faith. We are all “toads” of one sort of another, but God uses us to accomplish many things… if only we will let him. Just as he used the prostitute Rahab, God uses any who willingly serves Him – in spite of our brokenness!
I’m glad that Frodo has returned. He serves as a reminder to me that God is in control… that if He can meet the needs of a tiny Great Plains Toad, He surely cares about my needs. I am encouraged to stay faithful… to be strong and confident… and to look for ways to serve God when He calls upon me. What about you… does your faith need a little boost today? Are you serving faithfully and confidently? Does your witness show others that God cares for all of His “toads?” Shouldn’t it?
©2012 Debbie Robus
You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way.
Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead!
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Early in the summer, a spotted toad appeared on our back porch. He took up residence in a decorative bird house we keep on a glass-topped coffee table sitting there. One night, I discovered him pressed belly-side down against one of our picture windows, catching bugs that collected there in the light from one of our table lamps. I did a little research and learned that “Frodo,” as I named him, is a Great Plains Toad. Most likely, he moved into the bird house because his normal habitat… moist, damp earth… was not available in this summer’s drought.
I so hoped that Frodo would hang around for Timothy’s visit in August… and he did. We enjoyed watching Frodo – and his new cohort we dubbed “Little Frodo” – as they moved in and out of the bird house. We laughed as we watched “Big Frodo” attach to our picture window at night and catch bugs. Frodo grew accustomed to us, and I even put out water for him in a little dish on the table. I know he enjoyed it, because we would find it splashed across the table the next day.
After Timothy went home, we were a little lonesome. Remnants of a hurricane threatened to move things around on our back porch, so we did some rearranging before the storm hit. My husband gently moved the bird house to the porch floor underneath the coffee table and surrounded it with bricks. Frodo played on the bricks and around the bird house… and then he disappeared. For several days, the toads were gone. I know it’s silly, but I was truly sad and missed them. I had grown fond of looking for them peering from the bird house opening each morning. I missed seeing the toad on the window at night. And I was a little worried… what had happened to Frodo during the storm’s wind and rain?
My answer came four days later when I happened to pass the window, and there was Frodo… perched inside the bird house with his head hanging out. He was back! He probably took refuge in one of our many potted plants on the porch. But I was so glad to see him. And I felt God saying, “I take care of my creatures… ALL of them.”
I know this is a little bit of a weird analogy, but I have faithfully taken care of this little toad and his buddy most of the summer. And yes, he is just a toad… but God has used him to teach me a couple of lessons about faith. We are all “toads” of one sort of another, but God uses us to accomplish many things… if only we will let him. Just as he used the prostitute Rahab, God uses any who willingly serves Him – in spite of our brokenness!
I’m glad that Frodo has returned. He serves as a reminder to me that God is in control… that if He can meet the needs of a tiny Great Plains Toad, He surely cares about my needs. I am encouraged to stay faithful… to be strong and confident… and to look for ways to serve God when He calls upon me. What about you… does your faith need a little boost today? Are you serving faithfully and confidently? Does your witness show others that God cares for all of His “toads?” Shouldn’t it?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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