An ancient father's advice

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TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Chronicles 25-29; Psalm 70

TO CHEW ON: “‘As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.’” 1 Chronicles 28:9

David’s advice to his newly crowned son, Solomon, is good advice for us too.

David told Solomon:

“know the God of your father…”
Know (yada) is transliterated know, learn, perceive and see, know by experience, recognize, admit, acknowledge and confess.

“…and serve Him…”
Serve (abad) - work serve, labour, serve another by labour.

“…with a loyal (whole - NASB) heart…”
Whole (shalem) - complete, full, perfect.

“… and a willing mind.”
Willing (chaphets) - desiring, delighting in, having pleasure in.

Living out this advice is bound to impact life in practical ways. In Psalm 37, written perhaps around the same time David gave the advice to Solomon (Psalm 37:25), David declares:

“Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD
And He shall give you the desires of your heart” - Psalm 37:3,4.

Notice the word “delight” - an aspect of the willing mind.

David, in Psalm 37, argues against fretting (Psalm 37:7,8), and for keeping life’s big picture in mind (Psalm 37:9-22; 34-40), trusting God to direct the steps of everyday living (Psalm 37:23,24), and of treasuring God and His word in one’s heart (Psalm 37:31 cf. 1 Chronicles 28:9).

In this day of distraction and many shiny things to explore with the accompanying temptation to give one’s heart and mind to them, David’s simple advice to Solomon may be more difficult for us to follow than it would seem. Yet I believe it is the solution to many of the issues we deal with—stress, worry, decision-making, and being scorned, overlooked, and ignored by the world as people of faith, to name some.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I want to know You and serve You with a loyal (my whole) heart, and a willing mind. Please nudge me today when my heart wanders to lesser things.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 70

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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