John 15:7
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
“Ask whatever I wish.”
God gave this same choice to Solomon and he chose wisdom. We read in Ecclesiastes that everything else Solomon tried — things we may want or have wished for — turned out to be meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 12:8
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Everything is meaningless!”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
So, what do we wish for?
We so much want to wish for the things Solomon had: money, power, pleasure, folly, wisdom, and toys. Can you feel the excitement welling up inside as you envision yourself with these things? A new car, the freedom of money and the luxury it brings, the ability to exercise power here and there, not having to strive for anything.
We want to think Solomon got it wrong. (He is a bummer to bring to your party.)
“Fear God and obey His commands.” What type of gift is that to want? How will I benefit from this?
First, let’s look at the gift of fearing God. What does that look like?
Fearing God is to acknowledge His supreme being, His majesty, His power, His being Lord and creator of all. His ability to be anything, to do and create anything. His rule over all that is made in the universe. His ability to know all.
When you see God for who He is, you can’t help but humble yourself in a healthy, honoring fear of His presence. It’s an awestruck fear.
You start seeing that all of life here on earth is tied to Him that all the things you wish for come from Him. You ask yourself, If Solomon comes to the conclusion that all we desire is meaningless, then what is left that could ever have meaning?
You experience fear then, as you sense the emptiness, the loneliness and despair. You can choose to say, “Well, Solomon may be right but who cares? I’m going for it and I will make my decision if all the things I want are meaningless, anyway.” Most of us go down this path.
Yet how many times do we read stories of people who accumulated many of the things Solomon had, but hear them wish they had spent more time with their loved ones? They had found that their wealth and power and folly brought them to an unsatisfying end. If God is the only answer, then you fear losing that as well.
The second part is to obey God’s commands. What are His commands? We have the Ten Commandments that tells us to put God first and honor other people. We have Jesus saying the most important command is to love your neighbor as yourself. We see it said that without love, everything else we do or say means nothing.
He asks us to seek Him and His Kingdom first, then all these things (like Solomon’s things) will be given to us. The catch is that, when we seek His Kingdom first, the want and purpose for all these things, will change.
Wealth still abounds, and so do pleasure, power, passion, wisdom, and toys. But they all now have a different meaning, measurement, and purpose attached to them.
They are now used to glorify God — not pacify us.
When this change of heart happens, we can never use up all the blessings God will give us.
Obeying God’s commands and fearing God is not a punishment — it’s an opportunity to break the barrier of futility and experience the fullness behind a meaningful life.
Just a Thought…
