1 Kings 3:4-13 / Mark 6:30-34
One of the sayings of Sun Tze's "The Art of War" goes something like this: He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.
Of course there are many implications to this saying in warfare, but the terrain of life is also very much like the terrain in warfare.
One must know what he can do and what he can't. One must know his abilities and his lack of it.
To acknowledge that requires wisdom. Yet many battles and wars have been fought and lost because of this lack of wisdom to acknowledge the obvious.
In the 1st reading, king Solomon acknowledged before the Lord that he was a very young man and unskilled in leadership.
He asked the Lord for wisdom so that he can understand how to discern between good and evil.
Very often the distinction between good and evil is blurred when we fail to acknowledge the obvious and the temptations.
In the gospel, the apostles rejoined Jesus and told Him all they had done and taught.
Yet instead of fanning the flame, Jesus lead them to a lonely place to rest. To rest here means to refocus their hearts on God and to give thanks to Him.
Very often in the euphoria of our achievements, we gallop ahead so fast that we forget that we are limited and we can fail.
Yes, we need to ask for divine wisdom and enlightenment to acknowledge our weaknesses and short-comings.
We must let the Lord prompt us as to when to fight and when not to, in order to win the battles for His kingdom.