The man who had Great Potential
Every time I read the stories in the Bible, I ask myself: Where do I fit in? That, after all, is the essence of studying – to reflect, and then to act. Am I Abraham, learning to walk with God as my reward? Or Isaac, serving the Lord within the heritage I was born into? Am I David, a man after God’s own heart? Or Pharaoh, hardening my heart against the Lord? It’s important to know where I stand so I can see the path ahead more clearly and make the necessary adjustments.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about Solomon, the king who built the temple of the Lord. I admire him for his many accomplishments on earth. Yet I often feel a sense of sorrow, knowing there was so much more he could have fulfilled in God.
Solomon’s birth was a comfort from God. A consolation to David after the child born from his affair with Bathsheba died. God gave David another son, and that son was Solomon. Not only was he a child of consolation, but he was also chosen to inherit the throne, despite his position. And yes, he entered the position God had promised.
Solomon’s reign began in peace. God had already given David rest, and David had fought the battles (1 Kings 5:4). So, Solomon had a great platform to start from both physically and spiritually. And he started well. The only problem was that his father, whom God mentioned as a man after his own heart, had raised a standard. Despite his flaws, David’s heart for God was unmatched. This gave Solomon a platform to ride on and be better in obedience to God. Sadly, the Bible tells us that Solomon began to worship idols after marrying Pharaoh’s daughter, and later, many other foreign women who turned his heart away from God.
Let’s not get it twisted, Solomon was a brilliant administrator and man of great wisdom. The Bible says he had such wisdom and wealth that silver and gold were as common as stones in Jerusalem (1 Kings 10:27). He was a great man on the earth. But what about in heaven? Could God boast of him as He did of David – a man who served Him all his life? Solomon had tremendous potential in God, but did he fulfil it?
We are not so different. Like Solomon, we have a rich heritage in Christ – the Son of David. He has set a standard for us, urging us to store our treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can destroy (Matthew 6:19-21). This might seem hard, even impossible. But with God, it is possible. it is possible to enter into our potential in God that God Himself begins to boast about us.
God boasted of Abraham. Of David. Of Job. Of Jesus. These were people who did not lay up their treasures on the earth but in heaven. And now, we’re reading their stories. Do you want your story to be read? Not just for what you achieved in life, but for how you walked with God?
Don’t just be a man of great potential. Enter into your potential.
P.S: If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour yet and you want to, Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Please say with me – Dear Jesus, I believe that you died on the cross and you raised Jesus from the dead for my sake. I confess that I believe you died that I might have life. I receive your life, and I thank you for the blood that has washed my sins. I choose to live for you alone. Thank you for everything. I give you all the praise in Jesus’ name.
Welcome to the family of God!
Love,
Ayobambo