1 Chronicles 28:9

New International Version (NIV)

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.”

For Meditation

The Akans of Ghana have a saying that, “If you hear someone advising their child, it may benefit you to advise yourself by it.” I find it to be very true, especially if it is good counsel. For some of us who come from broken homes and did not have any father figure around to point us in the right direction, this saying is excellent counsel.

The absence of good parental counsel could be the result of various circumstances – divorce, death, alcoholism and drug abuse, shear neglect, unbelieving parents, and many others – but the result is the same. It takes God’s grace, which one may not recognize at that time, to be around fortunate friends and relatives who may be blessed with abundance of counsel from their parents. Those who have made the most out of such opportunities have gone on to become well-grounded and successful in life, in spite of the obvious lack in their homes. This is why I take the charge David gave to Solomon very seriously as a child of God.

David was on the final lap of his life and his young son, Solomon, had succeeded him as king of Israel. Solomon was inexperienced and needed all the support and counsel he could get. After reviewing the history of the temple project before the assembled officials of Israel, David turned to Solomon and gave him the charge of his life (1 Chron. 28:9-10).

I take an excellent counsel from this charge of a godly father to his son, that I should acknowledge Jesus for who He is – God Almighty, Sovereign Lord, and King Eternal. Second, if I have acknowledged Jesus as my Savior and Lord, I must serve Him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind; always remembering that God searches the heart and perceives its purposes and intentions, its desires and motives. “If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever” (10).

So, I hear David charging me today to remember that I belong to a specially “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that [I] may declare the praises of him who called [me] out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pt. 2:9). It is my call to take a strong and courageous stand in Christ with a view to building a strong Christian life and infallible character that will stand against every storm.

It’s a noble charge that I accept and take seriously, and I encourage you to come along with me on this journey to glory.

A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky – John Wesley (1762)

Shalom