Charles Stanley (April 3, 2024) Daily Devotional: Remaining Faithful.
Those who drift away from God will always find Him ready to forgive.
1 Kings 11:1-6 - Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, ``You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon held fast to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.
God gives wisdom when we ask, but we are responsible for applying that wisdom daily. Let’s consider Solomon again. Despite his great understanding, the later part of his life was marked by a turning away from God. Solomon had clear instruction not to marry foreign women, but he chose to reject God’s wisdom and do it anyway. The influence of those wives eventually led Solomon into the worship of idols.
The unfortunate downfall of the wisest man who ever lived is a helpful warning for us. No matter how strong we think we are, we aren’t above making choices that could cause us to turn away from the Lord. Over time, small decisions to ignore God’s principles can have a devastating cumulative effect: Slight compromises in how we live can put us on a path leading away from God and His perfect plan.
Is there anything in your life that you know shouldn’t be there? Have you been justifying it? If so, ask the Lord for forgiveness and submit that habit, situation, or tendency to Him. He’s waiting with open arms. (See Luke 15:20 - So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.) Choose to apply the gift of God’s wisdom to your everyday decisions, today and throughout the entirety of your life. Let’s stay faithful to walk in wisdom at all times.
Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 30-31
