”Now the days of David draw nigh that he should die and he charged Solomon his son saying,
Keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments.
That the LORD may continue His word which He spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.”
{ 1 Kings 2:1, 3-4}
The life of King Solomon is a great example for all of us to be vigilant about our walk with God. If the wisest man fell, there is no way we can be exempted. But because of it we should ever more strive to be better. And we can, through the help of Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us and is ever sitting at the throne of God making intercession on our behalf.
Perhaps the easiest way to keep in line with God is to study what King David told Solomon to do in 1 Kings 2:4. God told David, “If thy children take heed to their way….to walk before me in truth….with all their heart and with all their soul….”
First, we must take heed to our ways.
Many of us know our weaknesses. Some of us can even pinpoint that weakness. We know exactly what will cause God’s Spirit to be quenched and turn silent from our lives. Whether it’s the Internet, movie/TV watching, talking on the phone too much especially about people, being angry too easily, reading books that are not wholesome, etc. They might not be drugs, alcohol, or anything blatant that we can be easily ashamed of, but we know what they are. The Bible states, “Take heed.”
So guard against whatever you know is going to cause you to fall. Remember our adversary the devil he walks about seeking whom he may devour. If king Solomon fell, you may guarantee yourself that you can also. So, take heed. Take note of your actions and the thoughts in your heart. The enemy of our soul is very subtle. He’s not just looking for blatant sinners.
Second thing, walk before Him in truth.
We should always be open and honest in our relationship with the Lord. King David was. When he fell with Bathsheba and when he counted the people in Israel he told the Lord, “I have sinned before you. Take my sins away.”
We should, at the next opportunity we can, talk to the Lord about anything we did that was not pleasing before Him. I’m learning to actually ask for His grace and forgiveness as soon as I realized I’ve said or done something that’s not right with Him, even in the midst of talking to someone or working. I right away say to the Lord in my heart, “Please Father, forgive me. Cleanse me and make my heart right with You. Please Jesus, forgive me.” Sometimes it’s not so easy and I find myself not asking for it right away. But eventually, I force myself to talk to the Lord about it. There’s no sense in putting up a wall in my walk with Him, because I’ve come to realized that the only one that suffers is myself.
Third and last, the Lord wants us to walk before Him with all of our heart and with all of our soul.
I think the thing to be most vigilant about is our heart. If we feel it going and wandering away from the Lord, it’s time to bring it back in line with him. I think if we do this we’d be all right. Having our everyday communion with Him is key. The Lord Jesus said unless we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we on our own can do nothing. The key to being perfect and upright before the Lord is the constant abiding with Him by reading His word daily, if possible at the same place, at the same time. Make it a habit. And then talking to Him; opening our hearts to Him for any sins and shortcomings and letting our hearts align back to His word – back to the Holy Spirit.
Snares in our time are everywhere. We don’t need the devil to come up with it. In a second you can have the world in your home, right at your fingertips – in your phone or on the Internet and in movies. We don’t need to search for it in our neighborhood. A press of a button and we’re snared. But with the help of the Lord and the study of God’s word we should be able to overcome.
So remember what David told Solomon, “Keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments.” This is one of the keys to a fulfilling, happy life with God. When you do this, you will find that the snares of this world can be avoided, and overcome by the mercy of God, whose hand of protection abounds. Amen!
