“The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you….” 2 Chronicles 15:2b

Sovereign Source

I once made my own decisions based on nothing more than whims and desires. Whatever seemed good to me at the time influenced my lifestyle. I was blown about by every wind of chance. Some of these choices got me into places I should have never gone, doing things I should not have done. I was troubled and unstable. Conflict and turmoil surrounded me.

Asa was a good king in Judah. Chapter 14 of 2 Chronicles says that he did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. But even good king Asa got tripped up.

God had given him great victories in battle when by all rights he should have been defeated because he was so outnumbered. And yet there comes a time when Asa turns to man for deliverance rather than God. It may have seemed logical and reasonable to him at the time. Something had shifted in Asa’s thinking. Did he think he didn’t need God for this one? Did he think he could handle it on his own now?

Once I put my trust in the Lord I understood clearly who was in charge from that point forward. Like Asa, I saw the Lord’s victory in my battles.

The result of Asa’s erroneous assumption about his own strength and abilities and royal rights left him in jeopardy. The rest and peace he had enjoyed for years was now gone. He was left to battle in his own strength. The rest of his reign was disrupted by continual wars. Asa’s story serves to remind me that I cannot get complacent about inquiring of the Lord for direction and the decisions in my life. I cannot take His grace for granted.

Do not forget where your strength comes from. God has done every good work. God is your first consideration, your first line of defense, your wisdom, and all the help you will ever need.

We seem to revert to our own ways so easily. Remember, in all things God is sovereign. Look to Him alone. I know from painful experience that I cannot handle life on my own. I never want to depend on the ways of unbelievers or the ways of the world to strengthen me or be my help. Is He not God? Is He not enough?

“Father, thank You for the ways You have loved us. May we never forget that every good thing in our lives has come from Your hand. May we never take this blessedness for granted. May we never foolishly think that we can accomplish anything worthwhile and eternal apart from You. Yours is the power indeed and assuredly Yours is the glory. Amen.”