Read 1 Kings 3:5-14.
Imagine being a young person given the responsibility and the burden of leadership in a complex and politically uncertain realm. Imagine being that same young person encountering God in a direct and intimate way as you begin to ask yourself what it takes to lead people. Solomon, the young person in our reading today, was not perfect and was not predestined to the wisdom or the discernment he has become famous for in our Bible discussions. Solomon was an imperfect, unsure, and nervous leader standing before God and asking for the kind of wisdom and discernment that could only come from a God who loved this imperfect young man. Wisdom, long life, honor, and other benefits were not earned by this imperfect young man, they were offered to him through the love of a God who sees in us eternal potential.
We are a people of promise often standing before God in uncertainty, complexity, and challenge as we try to exist in a world that is no less complicated than that of our young friend Solomon. Do we ask God simply for strength or resilience in the face of a challenging world; or, do we ask God for a loving wisdom and a sense of discerning grace that gives us the tools to enter this world with a desire to lead? The first tool we need is already granted to us…God’s love for us.
Pray
Gracious God, may we always seek to lead in a wisdom founded in your love. Amen.
Ben Fitzgerald-Fye
Student Pastor
Calvary UKirk (Indiana, PA)
Words for Waiting 