| II Chronicles 14:1-16:14, Romans 9:1-24, Psalm 19:1-14, Proverbs 20:1
“About that time the prophet Hanani came to King Asa and told him, ‘Because you have put your trust in the king of Syria instead of in the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from you. Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and cavalrymen? But you relied then on the Lord, and He delivered them all into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth, looking for people whose hearts are perfect toward him, so that he can show his great power in helping them. What a fool you have been! From now on you shall have wars.'” II Chronicles 16:7-9
In the previous chapter it read that King Asa’s heart was perfect toward the Lord. Asa saw the blessings of obedience so he brought down all idols and served God with his whole heart, totally relying on Him in all areas. In turn, the Lord went to bat for Asa, keeping him safe and in peace. A heart who believes and trust God, one who relies on God for protection and provision, blesses the Lord. He wants nothing more than to be in true relationship with us and for us to have faith that we are taken care of. He was upset with Asa for reaching out to another man for help instead of remembering and requesting help from God.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to reach back into my cabinet of experience and to remember how You have always come through. I don’t want to draw outside the lines, help me to keep my eyes on You and to believe You for my needs. I know that You will use others to help me but my eyes need to be on You and my heart needs to rely solely on You. I am so excited to see that it is Your pleasure to bless those who love You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. |
