Passage Read: 1 Kings 10-13
Meditation Verses: 12:26-28
Thought
The Lord made Jeroboam king, but Jeroboam didn't trust the Lord to protect him, though the Lord has in fact made him king over ten tribes as He promised. He feared that the kingdoms would seek to reunite, and he would be found the rebel and offending king, like Saul's son, and be killed. So instead of consulting with God and the prophet who set him up, he consulted with people who suggested things God condemned. He didn't have the discernment to recognize that he was setting himself or his sons up for disaster. God gave him the kingdom, but he turned to the wisdom of godless men to help him keep it, and by so doing brought trouble on himself and on the whole of his people.
Application
I need to be careful not to love a position so much that I would seek to keep it by any means, even if I fear for my life. I'm sure I won't be in such a strait, but still I can become so intent on holding onto something that I look to worldly wisdom to preserve it, even when I'm sure it was the Lord who brought it into my life. If the Lord wants me to keep it, I shouldn't have to violate His Word to keep it, and if the day comes that He wants me to relinquish it, I should be the first to help give it to the next person.