DANGER IN COMFORT
"NOW THE LORD RAISED UP AN ADVERSARY AGAINST SOLOMON, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom."
1 Kings 11:14 (NKJV)
When you refused to keep God's covenant, that is, the commandments He gave to you were not heeded, opposition would be raised against you.
It is a common mistake or error on humans' part that they easily erred at the time of comfort or abundance.
Humans generally have a rebellious nature. It is always difficult for humans to keep serving God or following His commands or instructions once they are a bit comfortable. They always want to be independent and be their own God, and would not want to be submissive to the God of heaven any longer.
Solomon enjoyed all round peace and abundance in his kingdom until his heart turned against God who made him: "SO THE LORD BECAME ANGRY WITH SOLOMON, BECAUSE HIS HEART HAD TURNED FROM THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, WHO HAD APPEARED TO HIM TWICE" (1 Kings 11:9 NKJV).
READ: Deuteronomy 32:15
When you take God for granted by putting your hands in sin, you would eventually have a dirge to sing.
God is good and loving but He would not want His place to be given to another person or thing (Isaiah 42:8).
One of the ways through which God shows His annoyance or grievance to whoever rebelled against Him is by raising adversaries against the person.
In most cases when you are being opposed at work, where you live, School or wherever you find yourself, It is most probably that you have had issues with God.
When you disobeyed or rebelled against God, people would be raised as enemies against you (1 Kings 11:14).
One of the dangers that comes along with comfort or God's blessings is rebellion or being disobedient to God's instructions—wanting to live independently of God.
Solomon let God down, disappointed the God who loved and trusted him with the leadership of His people—the Israelites.
God's blessing being a conditional one, that is, God's blessing comes with terms and conditions which could be referred as a covenant.
God made a covenant with whoever He wants to bless or lift or assign for an important assignment.
Prior to the release of God's blessing on Solomon, certain things or instructions were given to him (1 Kings 3:14; 9:3-7), but Solomon unfortunately did not keep to the covenant—the instructions or commands or terms that were given to him by God (1 Kings 11:11).
Whatever agreement God made with you prior to your lifting or blessing, you should not back out or break such agreement.
Mostly, a believer's lifting or blessing might not have any formal agreement or covenant with God so to speak, but God expects the believer to know that His blessings on their life is as a result of certain things they have been doing.
God might not specifically tell you that He is blessing you because of this or that which you are doing, especially if your communion with Him is not mature yet, but He expected you to know that His hands of blessing or goodness on your life is as a result of one commitment of yours or the other.
Your spiritual fervency, your agility, your up and doing in the things of God, and a number of other good things towards the expansion of His Kingdom; are usually the notable things God considerred before He lifted or blessed a believer. A wise and discerning believer should not jettison such doings or acts after being lifted or blessed. In other words, he or she should not renege, go back in the commitments, in the doing of such things when comfort or lifting comes.
However, a lot of believers usually do not always know or understand that those things which they have been doing and are still doing are the things God considered before He lifted them.
Put differently, they would not know or be able to discern that the foundation of their lifting or blessing are those things which they are about to renege or back down from doing.
In Solomon's case, he had supernatural encounter, God appeared to him in a dream. But in our contemporary or modern time that God communicates through thoughts or inward witnesses or impressions (Romans 8:14), they would not know or understand that those things which are being impressed on their hearts, as thoughts, are God's messages being communicated to them—telling them about the reasons why they are being lifted or blessed by Him, God.
In a simple term or a layman's language, those things that are considered by God before He did whatever He did in your life are the cardinal or pivot or covenant on which the things He is doing in your life are based or depended.
Solomon failed to keep the covenant and disobeyed God's commands: "THEREFORE THE LORD SAID TO SOLOMON, “BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE THIS, AND HAVE NOT KEPT MY COVENANT AND MY STATUTES, WHICH I HAVE COMMANDED YOU, I WILL SURELY TEAR THE KINGDOM AWAY FROM YOU AND GIVE IT TO YOUR SERVANT" (1 Kings 11:11 NKJV).
Do not allow anything to take you away from God. Solomon did allow what God gave to him—comfort, wealth and blessing—to take him away from God.
What you are blessed with by God should move you closer to Him, not the other way around, moving you away from Him.
You should not love God's gifts or blessings more than the Giver of the gifts or blessings.
Every good gift comes from God (James 1:17), He is the promoter and lifter of our head (Psalm 3:3).
Comfort or God's blessings should not be a threat or bane to your fellowship or communion with God. In other words, your closeness with God should not be threatened and hampered by His blessings on your life.
Thus, fight and resist the works of the flesh and comfort that wanted to take you away from God—your commitment and submissiveness to Him.
Sin will sink your relationship and communion with God
Solomon married foreign women which God had clearly instructed him and the Israelites not to intermarry with (1 Kings 11:1,2).
If you love what God hates you are on the path of destruction. Remember, you cannot fight against God or His command and win!
Whoever loves sin would be stinking and eventually sink.
Jesus did pay for your sin (1 John 2:1,2), however, It is not a licence to keep going back into sin and be wallowing in it (Romans 6:1,2).
If you have allowed comfort to take you away from God, repent today and right your wrongs, tomorrow might be too late:
1 WE THEN, AS WORKERS TOGETHER WITH HIM ALSO PLEAD WITH YOU NOT TO RECEIVE THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN. 2 FOR HE SAYS: “IN AN ACCEPTABLE TIME I HAVE HEARD YOU, AND IN THE DAY OF SALVATION I HAVE HELPED YOU.” BEHOLD, NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME; BEHOLD, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION" (2 Corinthians 6:1,2 NKJV).
Peace!