March 25

Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours? — 1 Kgs 3:9 BSB

Solomon wanted to rule wisely. He didn’t want to fail as a king, so he looked to God and said, “You have made me king. The task is great, and I am just a child. Give me wisdom to rule well.” It was a noble request.

There is great responsibility in being a preacher, but there is also great responsibility in being a carpenter, shoemaker, or plumber.

Hiram Golf, an old shoemaker, once told a young minister that his shoemaking was just as much a religious duty as the preacher’s sermon. “If I mend a boy’s shoes poorly, and he catches a cold and falls ill, I’ll be responsible,” he said. “As a child of God, with a hope of heaven, I cannot afford to put poor work into this job. I wouldn’t want to meet that boy in heaven and have him tell me he died because I wasn’t a faithful shoemaker.”

All work is sacred, and we need God’s help in every task, no matter how common it may seem.