THE FLEET FOX

NOT AN ISLAND AT ALL 


1Kings 11:1-7

1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 

2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.  

3 He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.  

4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.  [emphasis mine]

5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  

6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done.  

7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. 

Nicholas L. Laning

 Home.  After a month at the ranch, I am back in Dallas.  It has been good to be back.  I love the ranch.  I love hunting.  But, as I have written, my heart has fallen a bit.  Whether or not it has or has not actually been close to God, I don't know.  What I can say is that it has been cold in my heart.  My honest assessment is that I was struggling, that there was distance at heart, and it was rough.  Brutally rough.  

A few days ago, providence had me flip through the book of Kings, a book in the Bible we all frequent (shakes head).  The above passage is where I landed.  Several things stood out to me in the passage at first.  None of them do I care to share now.  Doing so would only distract.  Perhaps another time.  The heart change came days later, yesterday to be exact.  The passage had not left my heart and mind, but had been saturating it.  

You see, my belief had been this... that as I matured in my faith, in intimacy with the Father, I would become more and more impenetrable, unflappable, and, to an extent, I was right, as we do grow stronger.  But, the extent I took it to was to believe that my surroundings, the company I kept, the events that took place, would matter less, maybe even not at all.  I had thought that if I fell, struggled, it would be from the inside, period.  Yet, God doesn't work  that way.

How foolish of me.  Look above.  Don't skip the verses, read them.  Solomon was a man of God, so much so, that God came to Him and offered Him anything.  Solomon asked for wisdom, and God granted it.  So, here's this great man of God, who builds the temple, and his heart is turned away by outside forces.  In this case, it was the taking of foreign wives!  Solomon began to divide his worship.  

Idiot I am!  Of course, the outside world affects us heavily.  This may seem obvious and stupid to you.  If so, you are wiser than I, for I just got it, thank God for such mercy.  I have ever been effected by those around me, by the company I keep, by their speech and actions.  Heck, the weather affects me.  I come alive when it is cloudy and stormy and cool.  The drought drained me.  People are even more crucial.  My main love language is quality time.  If people are too busy for me, or if I am alone for a long time, I begin to fade.  You might not even be able to tell from the outside, but I am.  

Why this lie ensnares me so, only God knows.  Yet, He is also faithful to sanctify me through it every day.  Wisdom and maturation is becoming impenetrable, it is knowing you're not, and knowing how hard you push before needing to retreat back and be around those who strengthen you, whom you strengthen back.

My mother, in her wisdom, shared something with me I had never realized.  It is that the disciples were a benefit to Jesus.  We always (well, from what I have observed) think of the benefit as being only for the disciples.  Surely they gained much more.  To be near Jesus!   Unreal.  Yet, Jesus, being a man, would minister and pour out.  Then, He would retreat back and pray and fellowship with His disciples.  He enjoyed them!  He loved their company!  It was a benefit to Him! 

How much more do we need to be mindful of our surroundings, of our fellowship?  One day back, one day around my precious wife, around my sister, my brother, just knowing my church is just down the road, and indeed my church family, has rejuvenated me.  I only pray that I will never forget this, that my heart and mind would both keep fresh the wisdom learned.  I am not an island.  Indeed, God has used the sight of a mountain, the falling of snow, the warmth of the sun, the hug of my brother, the words of a dear friend... they have all changed me.  They have all been hammers in God's hand to smash my heart of stone into something soft, something capable of being molded for His glory, for intimacy with Him.  For that I am forever thankful.


To God be all glory.  He is surely faithful and good.  May His will be done.  May His hand be heavy upon your heart and mine, pleasant or not.  May we recognize those we need to be near, who make us batter, and know when to venture out and be bold as well.  May the Hold Spirit be active in our hearts and minds.  May we be ever thankful, never judgmental or angry, and quick to forgive.  May my grandmother's results come back clean from the doctor, that everything will be well in her body.  Amen.