You are the gem of God’s garden.

Posted on by richlyspeaking

This is my mother-in- law’s passion flower. The detail is exquisite! It just takes your breath away. Did you know that each bloom only lasts a single day to enjoy its beauty? And surprisingly there’s not a whole lot of blooms on the vine. Maybe just one each week. When they appear the whole family receives them with the joy God intended when He created these elegant garden gems.

Today we were blessed with two blooms! They’ll be gone tomorrow. But this day was their day to shine in all their splendor.

Reminds me of the words of Jesus:

“Can worry make you live longer? Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of them. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. God will surely do even more for you!” (Matthew 6:27‭-‬30, CEV).

We need not worry. God is the Master Gardner. We are all His passion flowers. If we take the time to look at the details in our life, we will see that His beauty shines in and through all of His children. And I’m so thankful we get more than just a single day, aren’t you? We are created in His image! He loves to bless us.

May you bloom in all the extravagance of God’s beauty today, and tomorrow, and the day after that, and…

(c) 2020. Rich Ronald.

The Secret to Solomon’s Wisdom? Hearing God.

Posted on by richlyspeaking

"Shema Israel. Hear o Israel." Solomon asked to hear God.
“Shema Israel. Hear o Israel.” Solomon asked to hear God.

Whenever we think of Solomon we think of wisdom, right? We say that he asked for wisdom so God gave him wisdom… and more!

Interestingly, he actually did not ask for wisdom.

 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (1 Kings 3:9, NIV)

Yes, that collection of words translates to what we know to be wisdom, but he actually asked God for “a discerning heart.” Or some translations say “an understanding heart.” When you dig into the root of that word in Hebrew it is the word shama’ or “hear.”

If you are Jewish you say the “Shema’” prayer every day. In English it is:

“Hear O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might!”

Hear.

Shema.

So I think Solomon asked to be able to hear God… to have this open communications pipeline from God’s heart to his heart. To have one of those new fiber optic cables that has an almost unlimited bandwidth to allow God to have the fastest amount of data transfer available. From God’s lips to Solomon’s heart. Instantly.

And with that endless and open line, Solomon was indeed wise.

Do you know that you and I have that same access to God?

“Through him (Jesus Christ) we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18, The Message).

Yet, often our pipeline is clogged so that we are distracted from hearing God… with the things of the world that take our heart off of God’s best for us. With our job. Our family. Our finances. Our health. Our worries.

James encourages us to ask God for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5, NIV). As you do, recall that when Solomon asked for the same thing, he actually sought to HEAR from God.

May you have an open pipeline to hear from God’s heart to your heart. May you give God all your worldly distractions. Give Him those things that choke the conduit of His grace and His love.

Then, as you hear God’s voice today, may you have the strength and boldness to act and go where He leads.

 

© 2017 Rich Ronald.