Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Limited Patience of God 4/10/2013 (rp)

"Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice," 1 Kings 11:9

Most everyone knows that Solomon was the wisest man to ever live. We know that God found favor with him in no small part due to his father David who himself was a man after His own heart. God blessed him with unsurpassed wisdom, fabulous wealth, tremendous fame, amazing power and many of the desires of his heart. We also know that Solomon displayed a complete lack of wisdom by going against the commands of God and becoming involved with 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of whom were from forbidden nations. He was led to the worship of other gods and forsook Yahweh. Despite this, God visited him multiple times to get him back on the right path to no avail. This is the very definition of a tragedy.

Beloved, the question each of us must answer within his or her own heart is how many times must God appeal to us to maintain obedience to Him? Though certainly not on the same scale, God has blessed us with wisdom, wealth, fame and power. He has given generously from his vast storehouse of blessings, yet we at times allow those very blessings to corrupt us, forgetting He who is the source. He appears to us through the movement of his Holy Spirit within us. He appears to us through His word whether preached or read. He appears to us through circumstances, all designed to focus our attention on Him and the even greater blessings He has promised.

It is indeed a tragedy on the scale of the "Rich Young Ruler" who walked away from the riches of heaven in favor of earthly riches, when we take our eyes of of God and become disobedient. Sin is a slippery slope. Once the slide begins, it is difficult to stop. Even now, God is appearing to you and I to stop the slide that may have already begun. Nothing good exists at the bottom of such a hill.

Committed,

Lee

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