I thought I knew him. We spent our whole childhoods in the same one-stoplight town. I recognized his momma, knew what sports he played and what kind of music he listened to, but as I glance back in life’s rearview mirror it’s clear to me: I didn’t know a thing.
It’s taken twenty years of marriage to discover all I didn’t know; things like how he likes his eggs cooked, how his lips turn when he’s sad, and what keeps him awake with worry in the wee hours of the morning. Time and commitment have pressed our knowing past the surface, down into the deepest crevices of our hearts.
Solomon’s quest for knowledge about God was unmatched. With his jaw set and fists clenched, it seems he resolved to be wise. He stacked one fact about God on top of the next, yet a heart of wisdom seemed just out of reach (Ecclesiastes 7:27–28).
In the end, Solomon’s quest to know about God ended in cynicism (v.29) and sin (1 Kings 11:4). In contrast, history remembers Solomon’s father King David as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). While Solomon sought to understand the ways of God, David sought to know the heart of God. The difference in their lives couldn’t have been more stark.
Solomon considered knowing God and bemoaned, “What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it?” (Ecclesiastes 7:24). His father, however, marveled, “LORD, you have searched me and known me… Your works are wondrous, I know this very well ” (Psalm 139:1,14). Solomon’s wisdom, it seems, stayed on the surface, while David’s was pressed down into the deepest crevices of his heart.
For all the hours he spent searching and all the ink he spilled teaching, Solomon isn’t the poster child for wisdom. Not really. Instead, he shows us clearly that there’s a difference between knowing about God and actually experiencing Him in relationship, for Solomon’s head knowledge didn’t lead to lasting heart transformation.
How do we avoid Solomon’s mistake, accumulating facts about God like dusty books unread on the shelf? How can we guard against studying wisdom while acting like a fool? We remember this: Wisdom isn’t an item to collect but a Person to be cherished.
KIRSTYN, I am so sorry for your troubles and the season you are navigating now… praying God walk close with you all and that you will lean on Him, whose heart hurts when you hurt, who weeps when you weep.. He is near to the broken hearted..
Psalm 34:18 says..
The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope.
Praying dear heart, praying…❤
Erin, I enjoy your devotions. I loved the comparisons of Solomon and David this morning. I want to be a woman after God’s own heart! How quickly the pleasures of this world can draw us aside!
TAYLOR, Praying for you and with you, as you cover our sisters and their loved ones in prayer.
God bless you.❤
TABITHA, Praying for peace of heart and mind for you..
Sending hugs wrapped in love and prayers dear heart.❤
Dorothy.. praying your heart is knowing some peace today…
Interesting, isn’t it how that last bit of Erin’s devotion was what I found awesome, and you cannot understand…
Might I share my take on it..
Wisdom isn’t an item to collect but a Person to be cherished.
Wisdom, for me has never been about years or knowledge, it’s been about my relationship with God.. it’s been about God. I wasn’t born with wisdom, so much as my life has been guided by God. I didn’t acquire wisdom so much as i am led by God. I cannot buy wisdom, so much as God graciously gives. My relationship with God, means He is my source, my friend, my council, He is my Wisdom!
He is wisdom!
I hope this helps you.
Sending love wrapped hugs across the pond..❤
LISSA, Peace be with you too…prayers wrapped in love and hugs, dear sister heading your way!❤
LEANN SCHMITTS.. As I read your post, I felt Mother Theresa’s words come to mind…
‘“I never look at the masses as my responsibility. I look at the individual. I can love only one person at a time. I can feed only one person at a time. Just one, one, one.”
Not because I don’t care for your heart and your heartfelt sadness, but sometimes worrying makes us paralysed to do anything..in those instances of worrying for the world, PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. And where you are, one person at a time is a start, because in 10 days 10 people could have been blessed and loved by you…
I hope this helps Leann.
Every blessing wrapped in love, for peace of heart..❤
I woke up this morning with a heavy heart. All the injustice going on in our country is upsetting. But God. You women, my SRT family, lighten my heart. Thank you for your heart, insight, and honesty. If only our country were run by the wise women I join with here, each morning, we’d be in a better place. Peace, be with us.