(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(2 Chronicles 16:1-14) In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent it to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, 3 “A treaty must be made between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” 4 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard about it, he stopped fortifying Ramah and put an end to his work. 6 Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with it he fortified Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, for that reason the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He handed them over to you. 9 For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at the same time.
11 Now, the acts of Asa from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. 13 So Asa lay down with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and they made a very great fire for him.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, for that reason the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He handed them over to you. 9 For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at the same time.
11 Now, the acts of Asa from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. 13 So Asa lay down with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and they made a very great fire for him.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
In the previous chapter, we saw that Asa was doing all the right things, and so God gave him peace for 34 years. But it seems that Asa failed to give God the glory for all his successes. When we do this, it is so easy to take the credit for ourselves and take God for granted. So then when other struggles come along, our first probable inclination is to rely on ourselves.
God allows us to go through struggles, not only as discipline when needed, but to actually strengthen us in Him. Recently I heard this helpful illustration... If you watch a butterfly coming out of its cocoon, you will notice how it has to struggle. The immediate reaction might be to "help" it get out. But if you do that, the butterfly will never fly, and it will quickly die. The butterfly needs the struggle in order for the body to push fluids into its wings.
In life, even when we are doing as we should, we will face tests, trials and struggles. These are meant to help us see our constant need for God. And as verse 9 says, God will "strongly support those whose heart is completely His." Our main struggle will actually be internal. As believers, we have already given our hearts to Jesus, but we will still have the aspect of learning to "completely trust" in the Lord. Our constant decision is: to always go to God for everything, then trust and rest in Him, and give Him all the glory! And as we learn to do this...
(Isaiah 40:31) Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
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