What Could You Be?

1 Kings 4:29--And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

You are probably familiar with Solomon--famous king of Israel, son and successor of David, builder of the temple, penman of proverbs, the wisest man in all the earth--but have you ever considered him for the human he was? That's right. Solomon was a human just like the rest of us, sinful, prone to make mistakes. In fact, for the latter part of his life, he was steeped in sin. He used no indiscretion with women, turned to idol worship, amassed wealth and power for himself, relied on human means instead of God's, and was the reason Israel divided after his death. Yet, before all that, God blessed him.

In the above verse, a simile shows us how. God gave Solomon amazing wisdom and understanding, the attribute he is probably most famous for. The simile in the verse above compares his knowledge to "the sand that is on the sea shore." That is phenomenally huge! If you've ever picked up just a handful of sand, you know you can't even count the grains in that tiny portion. And there are beaches full of sand around the world. But the scripture says Solomon's wisdom was that vast. So how does this affect you?

Well, like I said earlier, Solomon was human, just like you. He was born, he lived, and he died. You are no different from Solomon. You too can have amazing blessings from God.

"Wait a minute!" you say. "Hold on. I'm not as good as Solomon. He was David's son, chosen by God to rule over Israel. He was special."

Yes, Solomon was special, but only because he allowed God to make Him that way. And you are special too. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). He loves you and wants to bless you and use you just as much as He did Solomon. You just have to let Him; you have to surrender to Him. It could possibly be painful, but it will be the best thing you ever did, and it will be more than worth it.

So how do you go about obtaining these blessings from God? Let's look at Solomon's example:

1. Love. 1 Kings 3:3--And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. The first step is to love God. A desire to please God will naturally flow from loving Him, and your desires must be in line with His will in order for Him to bless you. If you ever want to succeed at anything, it has to be in accordance with God's will. If you don't have a relationship with God, it's easy to start one. He is waiting on you. All you have to do is humble yourself,  admit your sin, and ask God to forgive you. Just accept through faith the sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary for you. That will be the biggest blessing of your life. Now, if you are already saved, maybe you aren't as in love with Jesus as you should be. He needs to be the focus of our lives. Our will needs to be perfectly lined up with His. We need to be wholly submitted to His plan for our lives. After all, He did die for us.

2. Ask. 1 Kings 3:5, 9--In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee....Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy great people? Then, we simply have to ask. That's it. Once we desire to please God with our lives, what we ask of Him should be in His will, and He will give it to us. It's as easy as Jesus said: "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7). For some of us, we may already know what we want to ask for. Solomon knew he needed wisdom. For others, it may be unclear yet. But be patient and pray for God to bless you in the way He best sees fit, and He will reveal His will to you. Just never stop living for Him.

3. Use. 1 Kings 4:32, 33--And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. This is sort of a summary of all the ways Solomon used his wisdom, but the point is that he used what God gave him. All of us have talents or gifts that God has given us, and He wants us to use them. You may know what yours is, or you may not, but you do have one, or most likely several. If you don't know, as said above, pray for God to reveal it to you, and He will. If you do, ask God to bless it and allow it to grow so you can use it for His glory. And that's the most important part: Use it, and use it for God. Don't let what God has given you go to waste, and don't use it the wrong way.

4. Continue. 1 Kings 11:9, 10--And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Here is where Solomon failed. With all the wisdom he had, he chose to use it the wrong way, which isn't very wise at all. Don't be like this. Use your blessings for God, and never stop. Don't turn your heart from God as Solomon did. If you use what God gives you for Him, it will lead to more blessings, so much you'll be overwhelmed. But don't do it for the blessings; don't do it for personal gain. Do it out of love for God, the first step. Always do it to please Him because you love Him.

So, as we've seen, Solomon was a great man. The simile in 1 Kings 4:29 does a wonderful job of describing the multitude of blessings God gave him. And God wants to give blessings like that to you too. He has them ready, and He is waiting to give them to you. God has a plan for your life; He has a future for you. You just have to surrender to Him and ask Him to lead you into it. You have more potential than you can ever imagine. With God, you can do amazing things you never thought possible. For Solomon, it was becoming the wisest man on earth. For you, only God knows. What could you be?