The Power of Choice

"And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. "  I Chronicles 28:20

We read that King David called his son Solomon (son of Bathsheba) aside to give him orders to build the House of God. David assured his son that God was behind this project and that God would be with him as he did God's work. When David handed over the plans for building the House of God to his son Solomon, he gave him specific instructions (I Chronicles 29). Solomon would have everything he needed to be successful in such an undertaking.  When I read the story of Solomon and how he was chosen by God to build Him a house, I marvel at the calling of this man. What a privilege to build a dwelling place for the presence of God!  So much work, so much effort went into fulfilling this dream. We see that Solomon was zealous, just like his father, to see the work of the Lord completed.  He built the House and the Bible tells about its splendor and sacredness.  Throughout his journey, Solomon also built a beautiful personal relationship with God. We see how God gives him much wisdom and favor.  God also appeared to him two times, filling his life with powerful promises. Solomon was one who honored God and worshipped Him alone which God blessed him for.  Yet, at the end of his life, we read that Solomon had a weakness.  This weakness would eventually lead to his destruction.  I Kings tells us,

"King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. 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. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.  I Kings 11:1-12
 
We see that everything Solomon had worked so hard for was now jeopardized because of his love of women.  Such a great man and great calling being reduced to such a low state because of his choices.  The Bible never says that he repented, which leads me to believe that he died in his own sin. We live in a different time and different place, but his story is not so different from our very own.
What a wonderful privilege is it for us to be called to do the work of the Lord and to serve an almighty God like Jesus Christ. We too have been given a task. We are to build up the Kingdom of God as well as our own spiritual house.  God has given each Christian a personal calling which is unique and which no other can fulfill. God provides all the tools and instructions for accomplishing the task at hand.  Our only responsibility is to be obedient to the calling and allow God to lead us. We have good intentions, we want to please God, but yet sometimes we get distracted by other things such as the cares of this world, sin, or like I always say, the"stuff" of life.  We often think that its God's responsibility to keep us from detours and mistakes, but this is not the case. Just like Solomon had a free will, we too have free will. God can tell us what to do and guide us, but we still decide whether to be obedient or not. Obedience is not always easy. It usually means that we have to put aside our desires and wants for something better, although it doesn't feel like the best thing from our perspective at the time. God gives us the power of choice. He allows us to decide what to do with what He has given us. He won't do it himself. God put Adam and Eve in the garden to live in relationship with him, but he still put a tree with the forbidden fruit in the midst of the garden to test their choices. He offers us salvation, but we still must accept it and act on it. Also, He gives us promises throughout his Word that are dependent on our choices.  Solomon had a choice when he took all those foreign, pagan women to be his wives and concubines.  His poor decision cost him his relationship with God so that everything he worked so hard for was overshadowed by his poor decision. He had such a high calling, but in the end, he traded in his relationship with God for the cares of his life. 
We make choices everyday. Some choices are easier to make than others. Remember, God won't always close the door on the distractions or "stuff" of life. He leaves that for us to do.  Will we be obedient and allow God to do amazing things in our life or will be trade in our calling and settle for less through our poor choices? I pray for that you and I will always have courage to seek God's widsom, but utimately the grace to be obedient, even when its not always easy. I'll leave you with this quote that I absolutely love, "God never said it would be easy, He just said it would be worth it."  God bless friends.

Blessings,
April