Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)
1 Kings 1:5-6 (NIV)
Lord Jesus, there are some things that I just automatically assume are going to happen, that I should expect or that I should do just because it makes sense to me. Adonijah, the oldest surviving son of David assumed that he should king. That was the way things were done back then. It made sense. And no body told him otherwise. Yet, You had ordained something different. And he missed it.
And if I must be honest, often so do I. I can get so caught up in doing what appears to be right in my eyes and by the standards of this world that I exalt myself, the world’s way of thinking, or carry out actions that make all the sense in the world to me, but in the end fall dreadfully short of Your will. And, Lord, I don’t want that. Your will is what’s best for me!
So, as I start this week off, I pray for wisdom, discernment, but most importantly, humility. Help me not to think more highly of myself than I ought (Romans 12:3) and not to put myself at the “head of the table” (Luke 14:7-11). Instead, give me a mind set to serve others (Mark 10:43-44), consider them more important than myself (Romans 12:10), and to lay down my life for them (1 John 3:16).
Master, even as You came not to do Your will but to do the will of the Father, through Your Spirit enable me to do the same. I don’t want it to be about me but instead about You, Your Kingdom, and Your glory. That can only happen if You fill me afresh and anew this morning. Therefore, I’m asking for a fresh anointing, a renewal of spirit, and eyes that see those deep hidden parts inside of me. Show me what is behind my decisions and grant me discernment, humility and grace to respond in a manner that pleases You and brings glory to Your Name. Then I will know that my living points the world to You. In Your Name I pray. Amen.