A Morning With Leonard Part 1

 “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.”                                                                                                                    1 Kings 3:10-12 (ESV)

“The world thinks that knowledge is wisdom, the more knowledge you have the more wisdom you have” said my elder brother –in-The Lord, Leonard Evans. It was the last day of a Keswick conference week and Leonard had morning devotions. The conversation that ensued among us was pretty cool…so I asked Leonard for his notes. And with his permission I would like to merge our thoughts on what is wisdom, how do we obtain it and why we would want it from YHVH.

So what is wisdom? Well American Heritage has it as: “Understanding of what is true, right or lasting “or “Common sense”. There was also this word sagacity so I looked that up and it is defined as “Keen intelligence; shrewdness”. Wasn’t there a Pharaoh who was shrewd? Anyway, none the matter here the definition doesn’t define Biblical wisdom. Proverbs 15:33 sums it up like this, “The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor.” I realize there are leaders in this world who don’t fear the LORD but way back in time there once was such a leader. He would be King Solomon.

Open your Bible for this part of this Freedom Fighter and turn to 1 Kings 3:7-13.  As verse 7 lead into verse 8 we see that Solomon has to admit that he is in the midst of God’s chosen people, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted. Solomon is revealing to us the most important thing we must do to receive God’s wisdom. This king humbled himself before the LORD. I know for many of us that is a hard thing to do, our own stinkin’ pride just gets in the way. So how does one get the discerning heart to be able to distinguish right and wrong? You ask God…duh?

In verses 9 of 1Kings 3 Solomon does just that and YHVH was so pleased that this was his request that He gave abundantly more than Solomon asked for. We also have a New Testament reference on what the heart condition needs to be. In James 1:5-6 we read, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”

With Solomon there is no doubt he knows what he is facing and being in need of wisdom from on High. And it’s in the not thinking of himself first that God honors his request for wisdom and much more. There is always more to cover on the subject of wisdom but for now please ponder over this question…What would you ask for if YHVH were to ask you for whatever He would give to you? I guess for some of us that would depend on how closely we were walking with Him. For me…maybe just to hear, “Well done, Enter in!!” Guess that too depends on a closer walk with Him. Amen? — Chris Hughes is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 126-128; 2 Corinthians 8

Quote of the day: Quote of the Day: “Trust in the Lord is the discipline that leads to wisdom. Humility is the way to honor.”—William MacDonald

Verse to Memorize: “Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your judgments. Psalm 119:155-156