To Encourage You

1 Kings 3:5 “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’”

Can you imagine being asked by God the question that He asked Solomon in the verse above?  Because it was God Who was asking the question, I suppose nothing was outside the realm of possibility for Him to give whatever was asked for.  How would you answer such a question? If you could have anything, what would it be? What do you wish was different in your life? What kinds of things do you find yourself thinking about most? Do you have a wish list?  How would you decide how to answer Him?

But do you realize that God didn’t just ask Solomon the question above?  He’s asked the same question to you and me.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said this to His disciples: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”  Sounds like much the same question, don’t you agree? So, what good gifts have you asked of Him?  Or haven’t you asked? And now that you know He’s offered this, how should you make your request?

In Mark 10:35-36 we are told of an incident in which James and John came to Jesus with the following request: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And Jesus’ reply? “What do you want me to do for you?”  Then in 1 John 5:14-15 John gives us the assertion that “this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” 

In all of these questions, including the question God asked Solomon, an underlying assumption is that how we answer such a question should be in alignment with God’s will.  So, the bigger question we should ask ourselves in consideration of the possibilities, is “Do I really want God’s will for my life?  What is it that I want most?  Is it MY will, or God’s will, for if it is God’s will that I want, He is almost certain to give it to me, but if it is my will rather than His that I want, do I realize what I am really desiring?”

You see, it’s a choice we all must make.  We are faced with a multitude of decisions as we live our lives.  Each of those decisions can be based on either our own will, our own wisdom, our own understanding of what is best, or God’s will, God’s wisdom, and God’s understanding.  In making those decisions, something that will be very apparent is who we really trust.  Do we trust ourselves, the advice of a friend, the media, or some other human source, or do we trust God? That’s what faith is. That’s what faith does. It acts based on who one trusts. It’s the very foundation of how we live life.  It drives all that we seek and want.  So, what is it?  Do I want the things God wants?  Do I even know what they are?  And do I realize that He is more than willing to give us the best things in all the universe?  Do you know what those best things are?  It’s all provided for us in the pages of the Bible. It’s all written down for us in black and white.  Or do you think other things are better for you than the things God has said?  Do you really think you know better than Him?