Don't Be Overconfident in Your Strengths

 

_*Don't Be Overconfident in Your Strengths*_

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD.. And the LORD said to him: "I have heard your prayer..

Now *if you walk before Me* as your father David walked..to do according to all that I have commanded you.. *then I will establish* the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever.

*But if you..turn from following Me*...then I will cut off* Israel from the land." 1 Kings 9:1,3-7

I would like to just point out one thing from the above scripture. A lot of times there come warnings from the Lord to us by various means. And quite often when God speaks, we think, "Oh, it's not necessary to talk to me about that, Lord, you know that's one area where I just don't have any problem."

But let me suggest whenever God speaks to you about any area of your life, you listen carefully because God doesn't waste words. And if He talks to you about some issue in your life, you can be sure that's the issue where you're going to be facing problems down the road.

Now I'm sure that here is Solomon, he has just dedicated the temple, it's been a very moving experience. They had all kinds of sacrifices. Everybody is rejoicing and worshipping the Lord, it's a glorious time of worship.

But now the Lord comes and says, "Solomon, if you will follow Me and all, then I will establish your throne. But if you forsake Me and you start to worship other gods.."

and I'm sure at this point Solomon is saying,

"Oh, Lord, You don't need to tell me about that. Far be it from me that I'll forsake You."

Sadly Solomon did forsake the Lord in the end.

And all the way through the Scriptures, it is interesting how that the Lord always seems to warn people in those areas where they are going to be tested and tried further down the road.

So pay attention when God speaks to you, no matter how ridiculous it may seem at the moment about how you would be tempted or have problems at that area. No matter how confident you may be in that particular area, if God starts to talk to you about some particular area of your life, you be careful and listen. The Bible says, *"Take heed when you think you stand lest you fall"* (1 Cor 10:12).

For you see, in whatever area we are confident in, we will think, "Well, I've got that all figured out, I don't have to worry about this area," is the area where we're prone to trust in ourselves. We're prone to be self-reliant in those areas because we think, "Well, that's an area I'm strong at."

Paul said, *"when I am strong, then I am weak"* and *"I will glory in my weaknesses, that the power of God might be revealed in me"* (2 Cor 12:9).

So usually Satan will not attack us in our weak areas because in those areas, we know that we have to depend upon the Lord. It's quite often a person falls in an area where he feel strong or has great confidence. And that's the area where Satan so often attack us.

So listen when God talks to you no matter how it may seem unnecessary to you at that particular moment. The Lord knows what He's talking about.