Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter–Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek, the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.
– 1 Kings 11:1-6
Devotion
Although Solomon had clear instructions from God not to marry women from foreign nations, he chose to disregard God’s commands. He married not one, but many women from foreign nations who subsequently led him away from God. God knows our strengths and weaknesses and his commands are always for our good. When people ignore God’s commands, negative consequences inevitably result. Take God’s commands seriously. Like Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, we are not as strong as we may think.
The Big Question
Gordon McDonald said, “An unguarded strength is man’s greatest weakness.”
Are there unguarded areas in your life that are not totally devoted to God? Ask God to give you the strength to take responsibility for these areas and to make the necessary changes.
Conclude your time in prayer and silence reflecting on what you have learned.