Pay Close Attention


1 Kings 8:22-26
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,
23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;
24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.
25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’
26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

Originally, I had intended that we cover almost 40 verses today. But as I approached the reading, I was so struck by the words “if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me” that I had to stop after only 5 verses and let God speak. Sure, I continued to read on, but my mind wandered back to that phrase making progress impossible. That’s the way it is with God’s Word sometimes. My goal orientation means nothing in God’s economy!

How often do we pay close attention and upon what do we spend our mental energies? Sadly I must confess that I can concentrate on something ridiculous for a great deal of time while the important slides away unnoticed. Today is a perfect case in point. Here it is 4:00pm and I am just now getting to this most important part of my day where I spend time in God’s Word and let Him have my full attention. Instead of starting with Him, He is getting the leftover time today. And has my day been well spent? It was tough. I was distracted, sharp with people, and generally unhappy all day. This is because I forgot to pay attention to my way and to walk before the Lord. So, the price was paid by me (and probably everyone around me as well.) Maybe tomorrow I’ll get it right.

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