"Mom,I did not have a great day , I just realized that my grades went below 95 in my last test, what should I do now ?", I heard my daughter's not so enthusiastic voice few days back.
The teacher in me suddenly awoke and I had a long list of things to tell that the she should have done . This scene played in my mind for few minutes while I sat down in the presence of the Lord asking for His wisdom over my personal resolutions I had taken in 2020. God took me to James 1:5 [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] , I had read the verse multiple times . But this time a word popped up "Without Finding Fault". God was speaking to me and reminding me, "no matter how much your past is messed up , when you come and ask me wisdom , I do not find fault. I want to help in your journey ahead". When you ask for wisdom from God, remember that you can ask at any time; your past does not define what you are going to achieve in the future . I now understood why the scene with my daughter was playing in mind. God was reminding me that she was seeking help on how to go forward, instead of finding fault. What a beautiful assurance and way to learn from the Father above, who is willing to give wisdom without finding fault.
Since I was meditating on wisdom, I was asking God, "tell me how do I ask you for wisdom? How do I know that I am doing the right thing?" There were two powerful scriptures he reminded me of being intentional when we seek anything from him. [But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:25] . The next word that started playing in my heart , was am I intentional when I seek something from God. That took me to the old testament . God reminded me of Solomon, King of Israel , the son of King David .
King Solomon was the tenth child of King David and son of Bethsehba .He was renowned for his wisdom, his prolific writings, and his building accomplishments. Before Solomon was chosen to be the King, King David son , Adonijah (whose mother was Haggith, David’s fifth wife), made an attempt to be the King over Israel and proclaimed himself to be king . However the majority of Israel did not favour that. Solomon was chosen King, and he had his father's blessing and favour from Israel - in addition to the Lord blessing. Having said that, its extremely humbling to see how Solomon asks for wisdom to rule Israel .
1 King 3 : 6-9 is a conversation between Solomon and God over wisdom.
Solomon's prayer was just three verses in the Bible and the book of Kings has many chapters written to describe about Solomon's wisdom.
As I was sitting down to make my resolution list for 2021 , and asking God for wisdom, God reminded me through this passage on how to be intentional in my ask to him . He showed me how in the books of James, he promises to give wisdom without fault and through the old testament how Solomon asked for wisdom and was blessed.
According to science, the average human mind makes 35,000 decisions a day , some of the good / bad which could impact the future. Let me encourage you to invite Jesus in those decisions, in those areas where you need wisdom. As we ask for wisdom , lets ask with the right intentions, know where we are, admitting what help we need and why we need. Often I tend to ask for wisdom for my personal achievement, learning from Solomon ensured I asked for wisdom, keeping God's greater purpose in mind. The rest would follow.