What Would You Do With A Blank Check?

If you were given a blank check from the most powerful and wealthy person in the world, what would you write on the line? Most people would start thinking about a big number with a lot of zeros. We might think about paying off all our debts, buying a dream home, or making sure our family never has to worry about money again. However, if God handed you an open-ended opportunity like that, the very best thing you could ask for is what we call heart-work. While it is natural to want God to change our circumstances or our bank accounts, the most important thing He can change is who we are on the inside.

A blank check is like "Venmo on paper." For the younger ones who might not know, a check was a special slip of paper people used to use to send money from a bank before we had apps on our phones. A blank check means someone has already signed their name at the bottom, and they are letting you fill in the amount. It represents a promise of unlimited resources. When we talk about God giving us a blank check, we are talking about a moment where the Creator of the universe asks us what we truly want. At Clayton Methodist Church, we believe that we are a family. Just like a good father wants to give his children the best tools for life, God wants to give us the wisdom and love we need to live the life He planned for us. Whether you have lived in Clayton your whole life or you just moved here, you are here for a purpose. God wants to help you find that purpose by giving you a heart that looks more like His.

The Story of the Ancient Request

There is a very famous story from the Bible about a young man who was given the ultimate "Venmo on paper" moment. About 950 years before Jesus was born, a young man named Solomon became the king of Israel. He was following in the footsteps of his father, King David, who was a legendary leader. Solomon was likely only in his early twenties, and he felt the massive weight of his new job. He knew he was leading a great people, and he felt like he was just a child who didn't know how to carry out his duties.

Solomon went to a place called Gibeon to worship. Back then, the great temple in Jerusalem had not been built yet, so the people went to the tabernacle. Solomon didn't just offer a small prayer. He showed his love for God with a massive sacrifice. He offered one thousand burnt offerings. Imagine the scene: the heat of the fire, the smell of the offerings, and the thick smoke rising into the sky. That night, while he was sleeping in the sanctuary to stay close to God's presence, the Lord appeared to him in a dream. In that dream, God spoke:

This was the blank check. Solomon could have asked for anything. If a trillion-dollar man like Elon Musk showed up at your door and offered you a blank check, you might be tempted to ask for a private island or a fleet of cars. Solomon could have asked for the death of his enemies, a life that lasted two hundred years, or enough gold to pave the streets.

But Solomon did something that pleased God deeply. He started by praising God for the wonderful and amazing grace shown to his father. Then, he asked for a heart that makes wise choices. He wanted a "discerning heart" so he could tell the difference between right and wrong. He knew that to lead God's people well, he needed a heart that was tuned to God's will. God was so happy with this request that He gave Solomon the wisdom he asked for, and He also gave him the wealth and honor he didn't even ask for.

Seeing Who We Are Called to Be

When Solomon asked for a heart that makes wise choices, he was really asking God to help him see his true reflection. He wanted to be the person God designed him to be. When he looked at his life, he didn't just see a powerful man with a crown. He saw a servant. In his prayer to God, Solomon called himself "your servant" three times. He also called his father David a servant. He understood that his identity was not about his own fame. His identity was about being a servant leader. He wanted his heart to match the position God had given him.

Each of us has a "you-shaped" hole in the world that only we can fill. Often, we spend our time trying to look like the people we see on television or social media. We think we need their lives to be happy. But God has made you unique, and He has a specific purpose for you. When we ask God for heart-work, we are asking Him to clear away the distractions. We are asking Him to help us see our own reflection clearly so we can be the person He created us to be before we were even born.

The Purpose of Our Position

Sometimes we feel like we are in the wrong place. Maybe you are in a job that feels boring, or maybe you are going through a season of life that feels like a struggle. However, we must remember that God is the one who puts us where we are.

Think about our community here in Clayton. Our county has grown by over 105 percent in the last twenty-five years. We now have nearly 250,000 people living in Johnston County, and over 100,000 of them live within a fifteen-minute drive of where our future church home will be. If you are one of the many people who moved here recently, please know that God has a purpose for you in this specific town. You are not a neighbor by chance. You are a neighbor by design.

At Clayton Methodist Church, we have seen God's provision firsthand. We are currently meeting at the Civitan building while we plan our new campus. We recently celebrated a huge milestone where the land for our future home was purchased and fully paid off. We even got to burn the loan note in a worship service! That is a story of God putting us in a position to grow. We now have 18 active small groups where people are watching over one another in love.

This applies to your personal life, too. If you are a parent, God gave you those children as a gift, and He wants you to ask for a heart that can love them the way He does. If you are a caregiver for a parent who is sick, you can ask God for the skills and the patience to lead them through that journey. Even if you are in a job that is just "paying the bills" and does not make you happy, you can ask for a new heart. You can say, "Lord, give me a heart for this job so that I can do it for your glory." When we see our position as a place of service, we stop slogging through the day and start looking for ways to be a blessing to the people around us.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

The bottom line of the spiritual life is this: The Lord blesses us to bring Him glory and to bless others. We are not meant to be like a jar that just holds onto everything inside. We are meant to be like a straw that lets the blessings flow through us to someone else. We are blessed to be a blessing.

We show our primary love for God by how much we want to see His kingdom grow. This means we should care about our neighbors, our children, and even the people who are not very friendly. It can be very hard to love someone who is mean to us, but that is where God's power changing us every day really shows up. When we have a heart that makes wise choices, we choose to love people even when it is difficult. We choose to do good even when it isn't easy.

We have the ultimate example of this in Jesus Christ. Jesus was the perfect servant leader. He did not come to the earth to be served by others. He came to serve and to give His life. Because He was obedient to God, the Father was glorified. Through His life and His death, we were blessed with the forgiveness of our sins. When He rose from the dead, it showed the world that God's love is stronger than death. Jesus did the ultimate heart-work for the whole world. Now, He invites us to follow His lead. When we ask God to bless us, we should always ask with the goal of helping someone else.

Why We Ask

You might be wondering why some of your prayers haven't been answered. This is a tough question, and many of us have felt that frustration. Sometimes, the reason we don't see an answer is that we are not asking for the right things. In the Bible, Jesus told His followers that He would do whatever they asked in His name. Many people stop reading there and think it means they can have a new car or a big house just by saying "in Jesus' name" at the end of a prayer. However, the rest of that verse is very important. Jesus said He would do these things "so that the Father may be glorified." When we ask for things in Jesus' name, it means we are asking for things that Jesus would want. We are asking for things that show how great God is. If we are asking for things that only benefit us and do not help anyone else, we might not be asking in a way that brings God glory.

Heart-work requests are the kind of prayers God loves to answer. Here are some simple examples of heart-work you can ask for today:

When we focus on our hearts, we are staying connected to God. We are following the simple rules of doing no harm, doing good, and staying close to Him. This is the way we find true happiness and peace in a busy world.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

We live in a world that is always telling us we need more "stuff" to be happy. We are told we need more money, more things, and more success. But the story of Solomon reminds us that the greatest gift we can receive is a heart that is tuned to God's wisdom. If God handed you a blank check today, or offered you a "Venmo on paper" for your soul, it is worth stopping to think before writing down a request. The best thing to ask for is the heart-work that only He can do.