Word of Encouragement (05/02/2024)

And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. ⁵⁷ The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, ⁵⁸ that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, ⁶⁰ that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. ⁶¹ Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” (1 Kings 8:55-61)

In v. 56, Solomon confesses and praises God for fulfilling His promises to His people Israel. He did this publicly when the people were gathered to dedicate the temple. He also did it in a heartfelt, joyful way, seeing that he said it “with a loud voice.” He triumphantly declares, “Not one word has failed of all his good promise....” Indeed, God brought them into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua and gave them the inheritance of the land. It had taken a long time because of Israel’s unfaithfulness and unbelief, but God did give them rest from all their enemies under David and Solomon. And God chose a place for Israel’s worship and granted David’s son, Solomon, to build a house for His name to dwell.

It is only right that we acknowledge God’s faithfulness to us in fulfilling His promises. We are quick to bring our petitions to the Lord when we are desperate. We pray long and hard, asking for God’s mercy. Yet, when God answers our prayers, we are too busy celebrating to remember God and give Him thanks. When we do remember to give thanks, it is given as a passing comment. Then we quickly move on with our lives or our next petition. In this, we are like the nine ungrateful lepers, who did not come back to Jesus to worship Him after getting healed. Worse yet, we sometimes wonder whether it was just a coincidence. This is unconscionable, isn’t it? If we are so ungrateful and quick to forget His mercies, how can we expect Him to multiply His blessings on us?

When we acknowledge God’s goodness to us, there are times we should do so publicly. God has called us to be His witnesses (Isa. 43:10). This pertains to the gospel of Jesus Christ, with which we are entrusted to share with the unbelieving world. But it also pertains to our witness to one another concerning the goodness God has shown to us (our “testimonies”) so we can encourage one another in our faith and praise Him together.

Our acknowledgment of God’s goodness should be heartfelt. Shouldn’t it be as heartfelt as our desperate petitions? Isn’t that what God deserves when He responds so mercifully to our cries for help? We can show our gratitude with tangible expressions other than just words. We read in the next passage, “Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:63). We can see how grateful Solomon was.

When was the last time you experienced God’s special favor? How did you acknowledge it? Do not be sad if you can’t think of any. Solomon praised God for fulfilling His promises to Israel. But we know that God promised something far greater. Paul declared, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus Christ]” (2 Cor. 1:20). We can never praise God enough for the eternal salvation we have received from God in Jesus Christ. When was the last time you praised God for the greatest blessing you could ever have? Let us renew our gratitude to Him for Jesus Christ!