| II Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Romans 9:1-24; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 20:1
“So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me, the Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law, but when they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and sought Him, He was found by them.'” (II Chronicles 15:2-4)
“All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought Him with all their heart, and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side. (15:15)
“At that time, Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, ‘Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with very many chariots and horsemen? When you depended on the Lord, He handed them over to you. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His. You have been foolish in this matter, for from now on, you will have wars.'” (16:7-9)
It is so important to keep our relationship with the Lord fresh and intact. Asa was a great king and did so well early on. Years down the road we see that he has grown complacent. Many times, Satan’s greatest weapon isn’t hardship but ease. After many years of God-given peace on all sides, Israel has risen up against King Asa and Judah. Years before, Asa would have immediately sought the Lord, but instead he called on Ben-hadad, the king of Aram. This insulted God and showed the distance between Asa and the Lord. This attitude continued because a little further down in the scripture it speaks of Asa developing a disease and seeking the help of physicians instead of the Lord. Now I believe that doctors and God are on the same team, but the point here was that he went directly to them instead of giving the Lord an opportunity to touch him.
The Lord wants to be our all in all. He wants to be our hero, our helper, our provider and protector. When we move from the supernatural realm to flowing more in the natural arena our relationship with Him suffers. I know it’s difficult sometimes. It’s very easy to get caught up in everyday life. It actually takes more energy to keep a relationship going, as opposed to letting it go. Many people do it every day with their spouse, parents or children. Sometimes we just get comfortable and don’t want to fight for it anymore. Lord, help us not to be spiritually or physically lazy. People are worth the fight and our Savior is most certainly worth the effort. He is there if we will just seek Him with all of our heart.
PRAYER:
Father, I ask You to keep me on my toes. I appreciate my many blessings and the peace that I experience. I never want comfort to turn into complacency. I need You and totally depend on You for every aspect of my life. Keep me steady to the end. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. |
