2 Chronicles 16:8

New International Version (NIV)

Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand.

For Meditation

I cannot get around the story of King Asa in his last years. When the Cushites and the Libyans came against Judah early in his reign, Asa sought the Lord. God gave him a mighty victory and a large amount of plunder (2 Chron. 14:9-13). The prophet Oded met him with a message from the Lord. “The Lord is with you when you are with Him” (15:1-2). Asa took courage and led the nation in a reform and to covenant with the Lord (8-12). “All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman” (13).

So, what happened when King Baasha came against Judah? Why did Asa seek help from the king of Aram instead of the Lord (16:1-3)? That’s the subject of the Lord’s rebuke:  “Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand” (8).

As I think through this story, I realize how Asa-like we are. One day we are on our knees crying to the Lord for help. He graciously comes through for us. We are encouraged and so we heap praises on Him. We tell Him how we love Him and how we will never abandon Him in any situation. We walk into the grind of the day and another storm arises. We needed the Lord for yesterday’s storm, but not this one. We convince ourselves that we have this one under control. We pull a list of the people in our network and see the one with authority to deal with it. We make a phone call and arrange for us to consult over dinner. In the process, we give away some critical information the person also needs, and the deal is done. As we observe the carnage that ensues, we congratulate ourselves for being well connected.

1. How different are we from King Asa?
2. Where was the Lord in all of that?
3. How did we take it when our wives told us we acted wickedly with those people we ‘dealt’ with?
4. Why did we withdraw from our trusted friends when they called us out?
5. Why are we consulting with the unbelieving associates these days than our Christian brethren? How different are we from Asa?

I pray you are different and will seek the Lord at all times and in every circumstance, regardless of your “network” or how “well connected” you are.

May we humbly accept the Lord’s rebuke from a friend who cares; and may we stay in fellowship in spite of our bruised ego.

Shalom