7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 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. 9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."
2 Chronicles 16:7-9 (NIV)
In 2 Chronicles 14, Asa, king of Judah, and his army face an enemy three times larger than themselves. They depend on God and the enemy is defeated. Here in 2 Chronicles 16, Asa finds himself at war with Israel. Instead of turning to the Lord for help, he turns Ben-Hadad king of Aram. Victory follows. However, God is not happy. Asa is busted for not turning to God for help. Ouch.
I have many times seen great victory in my life when trusting in God. Yet, like Asa, I find myself apt to place my trust elsewhere. How easily I forget what God has done for me. I need to remind myself of God's faithfulness. I need to rehearse the testimonies of what God has done for me in my life. I need to preach the Gospel to myself each and every day. When the next battle comes, I need to turn first to God and not to my own understanding or to other men.
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