I Kings 4-5; 2 Chronicles 2

Largeness of Heart

I am not the brightest bulb in the pack; in fact, when it comes to riddles or jokes, out of frustration, you will ultimately have to explain to me the solution or punchline. Yet, I consider myself a good counselor when it comes to containing the stories and complications of the lives of others. What I find is that I often experience that “aha” moment, that instant of clarity and knowledge which allows me to be of help. There are many times when my education or what I have experienced is not enough to demonstrate God’s everlasting love in the therapeutic relationship. Where does that wisdom come from? My faith and belief are that God is enlarging my heart with understanding, increasing godly compassion, and sparking the curiosity of lifelong learning that enables me to offer a glimpse of God’s love and acceptance to the hurting.

When I read, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore,” I was struck with the words “largeness of heart.” (I Kings 4:29) Solomon was a young man, probably in his early 20’s when he became king over all Israel. His judgments, inventions, poems, and sayings were renowned. His reign and influence legendary. Solomon prayed for and God answered his prayer to have the wisdom to rule God’s people. Solomon knew, as is evidenced in the Proverbs he wrote, that just having intellect did not equate with wisdom. He acknowledged by His request for wisdom that He would need more than smarts and experience to be a good ruler. And God enlarged Solomon’s heart to contain the real-life issues of His people so that Solomon could settle disputes, negotiate treaties, and expand God’s kingdom on earth. I am not so foolish to think that I sit with the greatness of Solomon, but I am humbled to know that God is willing to take thought of me, too, when my prayers align with His will to speak godly wisdom when counseling others.

If you have never participated in talk therapy, you may find my words strange or find it hard to relate to the importance of establishing a trusting, non-judgmental relationship with another human being. Counseling is not just getting someone to talk about something bad that happened or getting a confession that leads to catharsis. The sessions are mutually momentous and forever memorable for both the counselor and the one seeking counseling. I often think of this quote by C.S. Lewis from The Weight of Glory.

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

Therapy is not the only place where largeness of heart is needed. God considers every human being important; therefore, every relationship is an opportunity to share the serious business of godly love. And just like the edict above, our relationships should reflect joy knowing that we are considered equal in God’s eye. How we relate to others will be our testimony to the understanding and wisdom born out of acceptance that we are here but a short while living among immortal souls. Should we not make the most of our time together meaningful spirit to spirit?

Dear Lord God, You are to me the reason for this life, this time in my life, this placement in Your plan. Let me remember how little my needs and preferences are in comparison to the importance of what You have stored up for me. I thank You for all the blessings and tender mercies in my life. I thank You for all the experiences that have brought me closer to You. And I welcome Your future for me, knowing that You will enlarge my heart even more as may be needed to bring others nearer to You.

Jansuwilkinson

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1 Kings 2; 1 Chronicles 29; 2 Corinthians 11; Psalm 95

Last Monday I completed my last day of teaching Life Skills to a high school class. For a spring semester, for an hour and a half on Mondays, we focused on honoring God through stewardship of time, talent, treasure, heart (faith), and health. In that time constraint, it was a crash course, and like a lot of parents feel in the high school years, I also felt a pressure to tell these students as much as I could to prepare them for a next chapter in life. But this mostly: have a Bible, read it, put God’s Word in their hearts.

A friend had shared a quote with me by St. Jerome, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

Reading David’s words to Solomon today, I hear his heart’s desire for his son:

As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:

² “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. ³ Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. ⁴ If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1-4, NLT, emphasis mine

What better advice can a parent offer a child? To follow the Lord. To honor him.

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! ¹¹ Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. ¹² Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

1 Chronicles 29:10-12, NLT

Lord, I don’t want to be ignorant of you. I need your Word and your holy Spirit every day.

² For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. ³ But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. ⁴ You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

2 Corinthians 11:2-4, NLT

I am so grateful for your words in my hands and in my heart.

¹ Come, let us sing to the Lord!
    Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
    Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
³ For the Lord is a great God,
    a great King above all gods.
⁴ He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
    and the mightiest mountains.
⁵ The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
    His hands formed the dry land, too.

⁶ Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
⁷     for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
    the flock under his care.

If only you would listen to his voice today!

Psalm 95:1-7, NLT

One year, I signed up for a bird watching hike with my youngest daughter, and our group made our way to a pavilion in the woods, binoculars in hand. We sat there, and I impatiently wondered what the hold up was. Were we waiting for someone? Then the guide instructed us to use our senses, to hear the birds’ song and follow the sound to sight the birds. Song? I only heard the running stream of stressful thoughts and concerns in my head. When I turned down my own voice, I was washed over with birdsong. If I couldn’t hear the birds singing, how would I hear the Lord? I learned to quiet myself and sit at his feet, to listen to his voice. He is near.

Courtney (66books365)

2 Samuel 18-20; 2 Corinthians 6; Psalm 56

Fractured–the first word that came to mind as I considered the reading in 2 Samuel today.

⁹ During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. ¹⁰ One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”

¹¹ “What?” Joab demanded. “You saw him there and didn’t kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero’s belt!”

¹² “I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver,” the man replied to Joab. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’ ¹³ And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son—and the king would certainly find out who did it—you yourself would be the first to abandon me.”

¹⁴ “Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. ¹⁵ Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. ¹⁷ They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes.

2 Samuel 18:9-17, NLT, emphasis added

David’s son, who had turned against him, is now dead. A soldier honors David’s request, while knowing his own commander would sell him out otherwise. Joab takes matters into his own hands, literally, disobeying David’s request. David wrestles with grief, torn between being a father and a king. People still struggle with where their loyalty lies. Everything, fractured.

Paul tells of hardship and sacrifice and urges believers: stop the fracturing.

We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. ⁴ In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. ⁵ We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. ⁶ We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. ⁷ We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. ⁸ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. ⁹ We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. ¹⁰ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

¹¹ Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. ¹² There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us. ¹³ I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!

¹⁴ Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

“I will live in them
    and walk among them.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
    and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
    and I will welcome you.
¹⁸ And I will be your Father,
    and you will be my sons and daughters,
    says the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 6:3-18, NLT, emphasis added

I am most moved by the Lord’s love, faithfulness, promises, and compassion. He calls me daughter. He holds together what the world would tear apart.

You keep track of all my sorrows.
    You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
    You have recorded each one in your book.

⁹ My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.
    This I know: God is on my side!
¹⁰ I praise God for what he has promised;
    yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised.
¹¹ I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
    What can mere mortals do to me?

Psalm 56:8-11, NLT, emphasis added

Father God, you have collected all my tears too. You have kept track of all my sorrows and recorded them in your book. You want me to live set apart, to call me daughter. You are on my side. You are so very faithful and loving. I willingly draw near to you.

Courtney (66books365)

2 Samuel 7-8; 1 Chronicles 17; 2 Corinthians 1; Psalm 2

There is a story about the kingdom of God (Matthew 13:44) being like treasure in a field, and a man who discovered it sold all he had with joy to buy the field. That’s what comes to mind as I read today. David wants to build a fine house for the Lord, but the Lord gives David a blessing instead–a blessing echoed in the other readings.

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed,

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord?

2 Samuel 7:18-19, NLT

A lasting dynasty.

²⁵ “O my God, I have been bold enough to pray to you because you have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him—a dynasty of kings! ²⁶ For you are God, O Lord. And you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁷ And now, it has pleased you to bless the house of your servant, so that it will continue forever before you. For when you grant a blessing, O Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”

1 Chronicles 17:25-27, NLT

An eternal blessing.

²¹ It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, ²² and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22, NLT, emphasis added

A guarantee of his promise.

²³ Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn’t return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke. ²⁴ But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.

2 Corinthians 1:23-24, NLT

Full of joy.

¹⁰ Now then, you kings, act wisely!
    Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
¹¹ Serve the Lord with reverent fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
¹² Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry,
    and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—
for his anger flares up in an instant.
    But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

Psalm 2:10-12, NLT

But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

While the verses in Matthew weren’t part of the reading, the joy the man felt when he realized the treasure he owned is just like the joy (stunning, incredible, humbling, amazing) that David feels with God’s promise to him. Do I live in the joy of knowing the Lord’s promises are true? Do I live in amazement of what he can do in me? David gets a glimpse of God’s promise, which is a blessing. But I get a glimpse of things too, through God’s Word, of his sovereignty, power, and faithfulness.

⁶ Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. ⁷ We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

⁸ We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. ⁹ In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.

2 Corinthians 1:6-10, NLT

Lord, who am I, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? Oh, and if I knew the plans you had in store for me, would that, should that change my perspective? Do I need to touch the wounds of your hands? You have identified me as your own. Let me take hold of joy and confidence in you, your word, and your promises instead.

Courtney (66books365)

1 Corinthians 15; Psalm 68

This quote comes from a Christian-focus book on perseverance and starting over.

“No one is coming to save you.”

I’ve thought on these words since last September. They scare me. There were likely other messages from the book about accountability and movement, but this is the sentence that stuck hard with me. And the heckler in my head speaks it over me in my lowest times.

I read this next in a book about redeeming lost years from childhood neglect:

“The fact is, you can’t totally trust me or anyone else. When push comes to shove, I’ll probably save [myself] first.”

It stole the breath from my lungs as I considered humanity and sin and that even important-to-you people will put impossible burdens upon shoulders, or flee in the crisis. Can one trust his life to anyone? Ever?

² It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place (1 Corinthians 15:2, NLT).

I took the riding mower out to cut the grass. There are many mature trees in our yard, and two oaks in the front yard have large, long, dead limbs. It makes me nervous to ride beneath them for fear they’ll fall on me. That day, I wondered to the Lord, oh, that He would show me a sign of His protection over me: let a tree limb fall after I pass by so I won’t worry about it (and “it” is symbolic of more than a tree limb). I moved on to the field and made several laps around the perimeter, moving a tractor deck’s width inward each lap. Coming down the straightaway, a limb I never noticed lie fallen, dead, long and large, right in the area I had passed by just earlier.

He didn’t drop the limbs I was thinking about. I knew I could count on Him for my soul’s salvation, but could I count on Him to protect me? Especially in times of feeling very targeted, emotionally, physically, would He protect me? He told me then that He’s protecting me from threats I’m not even aware of; I can trust him.

In recent readings, David and Eleazar stood together on the battlefield because all the other men deserted them to an enemy army. They were outnumbered. They should have died. But it was God who gave them the victory.

I tell my kids that truth can handle scrutiny. It doesn’t run from questions or doubts. Truth is not afraid. It doesn’t change itself or hide the evidence to make itself look like something it’s not. Truth doesn’t back down or bully back or threaten. It stands.

³⁴ Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all (1 Corinthians 15:34, NLT).

I am thankful for His Word in my hands, so that I can know Him in these pages (so that I can know Him also in my life). I can look at an impossible story in the Bible, and read of His victory in what should be defeat, see His miracles in the unimaginable.

⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless (1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT).

He fashions me into His image–with encouragement to be strong! Be engaged! It matters!

¹⁹ Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
   For each day he carries us in his arms.
²⁰ Our God is a God who saves!
   The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death (Psalm 68:19-20, NLT).

I matter.

You matter.

Praise be to God!

I get up and begin again.

Courtney (66books365)

From the archives. Originally published May 9, 2019.