He Gave Them Into Your Hand

At that time the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah, and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Aram, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with exceedingly many chariots and cavalry? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the entire earth, to strengthen those whose heart is true to him. You have done foolishly in this; for from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the stocks, in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties on some of the people at the same time.

2 Chronicles 16:7-10

For 41 years, Asa was a strong and humble king. He brought peace and prosperity to the kingdom of Judah. During his early years of reign he acknowledged that he was nothing without God. But toward the end of his reign, when the army of the northern kingdom of Israel confronted him, Asa sought the help of the king of Syria instead of from God. Because of his foolishness, his rule weakened and his nation experienced wars. What went wrong? Proud of his past achievements, Asa had forgotten to depend on the LORD, so the LORD was no longer showing His strength on behalf of Asa.

God is still looking for those who will allow Him to show Himself strong in their lives. Living a humble, God-dependent life is truly a brilliant idea! No one is stronger than the on who depends on God.

Our Daily Bread – July 18, 2005