Crossroads: What Do You Want?

1 Kings 3:5-12

Your Story

What was your big dream as a child? Did you want to be famous? Did you want to be rich? Did you want to be powerful? Did you want to help people? Tell your family about your dreams as a child. If they changed as you grew up, talk about those as well.

My Story

As a child, I wanted to be a singer. I wanted to be famous. I can carry a tune, but I’m not a great singer. But I loved to write songs. A lot of the songs I wrote were about God. I loved to dress up and sing my songs. As I grew up, I stopped writing songs and started grading papers. I had a grade book that my mom bought and I decided I wanted to be a teacher. But I never forgot about those songs. I found some of the lyrics I wrote a few years ago. There’s no music to them, and I can no longer remember the tune, but I remembered my dream of wanting to be a singer.

As a child, Solomon wanted something too. He could’ve asked for lots of things. After all, he was the king. But instead, Solomon asked God for something surprising. Read 1 Kings 3:5-12. From The Message: That night, there in Gibeon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream: God said, “What can I give you? Ask.” Solomon said, “You were extravagantly generous in love with David my father, and he lived faithfully in your presence, his relationships were just and his heart right. And you have persisted in this great and generous love by giving him—and this very day!—a son to sit on his throne. And now here I am: God, my God, you have made me, your servant, ruler of the kingdom in place of David my father. I’m too young for this, a mere child! I don’t know the ropes, hardly know the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of this job. And here I am, set down in the middle of the people you’ve chosen, a great people—far too many to ever count. Here’s what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?” God, the Master, was delighted with Solomon’s response. And God said to him, “Because you have asked for this and haven’t grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I’ll give you what you’ve asked for—I’m giving you a wise and mature heart. There’s never been one like you before; and there’ll be no one after.

Solomon was a child when he became king. Everything in the kingdom was his. And God told him to ask for anything and God would give it. But instead of asking for what he might have wanted for himself (riches, a long life, etc.), Solomon asked God for what he needed. Solomon knew that he had no idea how to be king. He wanted to lead the people well and he asked God for help. He asked for a heart that listens to God so that he would know the best thing to do, the choices he should make. He asked God for wisdom in making decisions. Thousands and thousands of years later, we know that Solomon is known as the wisest king to have ever lived. God gave Solomon what he asked for. And because Solomon asked for a heart that listened to God, God gave him so much more than he asked for.

You see, wisdom is priceless. Listening to God and doing what God wants you to do is worth more than all of the money in this world. Pleasing your Creator and living your life doing what God says is best is the best thing you can do. Sometimes it means that life is harder. It may mean that you don’t get to be rich or famous. But it does mean that you will see God’s blessings in your life. It means that you will live your life the way God created you to live it. And when you live your life following God, you are living the best version of your life.

Money, power, and fame can be good things. But the better thing to ask God for is wisdom. If you ask, God will always help you know what the right thing to do is. God will give you wisdom and God will help you know what to do. And having the God of the universe help you make decisions? That is priceless.

Discussion

• What do you need in your life? Talk about ways you can ask God for it.
• Talk about what wisdom may look like in your child’s (or children’s) lives.

Prayer

Thank God for knowing what is best for us. Ask God for wisdom. If you have a big decision you have to make, ask God for help in knowing what to do.

Jessica Asbell is currently serving as the Minister to Children at First Baptist Church of Roswell, GA. She has worked with children in various capacities at several churches, including Winter Park Baptist in Wilmington, NC, First Baptist of Decatur, GA, and Highland Hills Baptist in Macon, GA. She has a Master of Divinity from McAfee School of Theology and a BBA from Mercer University. In her spare time she loves to read, watch movies, and of course spend time with her sweet kitty, Lucy.