Listening for the Promise
Sola Publishing – Weekly Devotions
Second Sunday of Christmas  – January 5, 2025
SOWeR Site — Weekly Devotional © Sola Publishing: www.solapublishing.com, 2024, written by Peggy Hoppes. Scripture taken from ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
(permission granted to active subscribers to reproduce this sheet for local congregational use)

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 
- 1 Kings 3:9 -
The Humble Seek Wisdom
Wisdom. Solomon understood the importance of seeing things from the right perspective. He could have asked for anything, but he didn't ask for health or wealth. He asked for wisdom. God was pleased and granted him not only wisdom, but everything. Solomon was humble; he knew that he was not qualified to lead the people of Israel. How could a boy, barely twenty years old, lead a nation? We might think that we need health and wealth to accomplish our purpose, but Solomon knew what he needed most: wisdom.
Jesus was twelve years old when He went to the Temple and sat with the elders to discuss the things of God. He shared His thoughts and understanding of God with those learned men. As the Son of the Living God, Jesus had more knowledge than any of them, but He was humble before the elders, listening and asking questions. All who heard Him were amazed. Even His parents were astonished. Jesus had the wisdom that is more than knowledge and experience.
The wisdom of God is much different than the wisdom of the world. Solomon knew that he needed more than health and wealth. He needed God to give him a discerning heart so that he would rule rightly. We can be like Solomon and Jesus. We need wisdom to make the decisions that will affect us and those around us, but it is not something we can learn on our own. We are to seek the wisdom only God can give. As we humble ourselves and trust Him, asking the right questions, He will answer according to His good and perfect purpose for our lives. As we live according to God’s Word, we will see the changes that will not only make us healthier and more responsible, but even more so, more faithful to Him. It takes a lifetime, and we will fail time and again, but God continues to work in us and through us daily, transforming us into the people He created and redeemed us to be.