"Prone to Wander Lord I feel it...."

1Kings 11:9 ¶ And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

Without a doubt, one of the most amazing stories in all of the Bible is the appearance of God to Solomon, when Solomon first became King of Israel. He could have asked God for anything, but he chose to ask God for wisdom. God not only granted him his request for wisdom, but also promised him wealth, and victory over his enemies. There was a second time that God appeared to him, and that was after Solomon prayed the prayer of dedication for the temple.

Can you imagine having the God of the universe appear to you? Do you think that after that you could ever forsake Him, and become idolatrous? If you are like me, you are thinking right now that if God ever appeared to you, and granted you what He did for Solomon, that you would serve Him all of your days. You wonder how Solomon could do such a thing! But I must say, that the older I get, the less I trust myself. I am capable of forsaking the God who has already done so many wonderful things for me. If it were not for His persevering grace in my life I would have forsaken Him long ago.

There is a warning here for us. We must not trust our passed experiences with God to keep us faithful to Him, in the future! We must depend upon Him for fresh supplies of grace to keep us faithful. Also, I believe that we must guard our intimate relationships, and be sure they are the kind that brings us more near to God, and not the kind that causes us to drift from Him!

Finally, we must see that there is a cost for such forsaking. Solomon had the kingdom taken away from His posterity. Idolatry is never free, but is always very costly.

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart Lord take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above."