Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 10

23 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
1 Kings 10:23

What does it mean to be wise? 

Today’s reading focuses on the visit of the Queen of Sheba, a famous scene from scripture. There, she exclaims she finds Solomon much greater than she ever imagined. The people are happy, the kingdom at peace, he is wealthy, and he holds wisdom greater than she has known. 

This is the reputation of Solomon from scripture; a reputation we have already seen does not totally conform to scripture’s witness itself. But, for our purposes today, we consider that Solomon did have wisdom and could provide seriously good counsel. 

What does it mean to be wise? 

We tend to want wisdom ourselves, especially when facing decision points or intersections in life. We want to make the right decision, know the various scenarios at play, and consider them all wisely. This is the analytical sense of wisdom. 

But wisdom goes deeper than that. To be wise in playing out the various scenarios and choosing the best is to be a good analytical thinker. But Solomon’s wisdom, and scripture’s witness to wisdom, goes deeper than that. To be wise is to know God’s heart and to speak and act from there. 

Verse 24, the next verse after the focus verse for today, says God had put wisdom in Solomon’s mind. For us today, we have the same resource and access Solomon did through the Holy Spirit. God has given us all we need to be wise. The question before is not what it means to be wise, but rather, whether we are attuned to God who lives within us. 

Think
Think of a time you were wise. How did you come about that wisdom? How was the Holy Spirit involved? 

Pray
Ask God to show you how to be more attuned to the Holy Spirit’s presence, and wisdom, that lives within you. 

Do
Further pray and ask God for wisdom in a decision point or intersection coming up in your life. 

Think, Pray, Do. As we respond in faith to scripture, God moves in power through our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are the people of God. Thanks for reading today. Go in peace. Amen.

Think, Pray, Do devotionals by Ted Goshorn follow the suggested bible reading plan from his website and book, Prayer Changes Us. Find this Bible reading plan at tedgoshorn.org/biblereading. If you have found today’s devotion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for daily emails at tedgoshorn.org and share with others that we may think, pray, and do faithfully.