Christian Devotional – January 22, 2017

As we continue to look at Solomon, we see that things did not go well for him. He had great success and had built the temple. He was very wise and God had promised to be with him in everything if only he would trust and obey God. God even reiterated this promise to Solomon and we read about that in the last devotional. However, then comes 1 Kings chapter 11, a disastrous chapter for Solomon.

Read 1 Kings 11:1-13. Here we see that Solomon got distracted. He was distracted by women and all the seemingly wonderful things that this life has to offer. He stopped following God and was willing to follow anything and everything that came along as long as someone he loved was happy about it.

Do we get distracted from the purpose that God has given us? What kind of things distract us? Do we, like Solomon, get so focused on pleasing the people around us that we forget our purpose and calling is to please the One who made us? If we were to take time to read through Ecclesiastes, we’d see a great many other things that Solomon pursued with the idea that they would bring him happiness, but they never did. He realized in the end that only God can satisfy. Only God can meet our needs and do all that He has promised to us.

Will the story of Solomon’s life be the story of our life? Or, will we write a different story of obedience and devotion to the One true God?