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"And Asa cried to the Lord his God, 'O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.'"
(2 Chronicles 14:11, ESV)
For the first time in my life, I am trying to complete the one year chronological Bible plan on the Bible app! I wanted to do this because of the discipline it would instill in me, the chronological timeline, and because I honestly didn't want to go cover to cover.
It has been amazing to re-read the Old Testament, to read the stories of old about the giants of our faith: people like David, Ruth, Abraham, Esther, Isaac, and others. Recently, I have been reading 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Now, for those not too familiar with these books, they take place after Solomon's reign over the nation of Israel. After King Solomon's reign came to an end, his son Rehoboam claimed the throne, Jeroboam (a government official appointed by Solomon) rebelled, and the nation of Israel split into two new kingdoms: Israel and Judah.
Kings and Chronicles give us insight into the lives and reigns of the different kings that ruled Judah and Israel. Upon my recent re-reading of these books, I have been fascinated with how some kings honored the Lord and some did not, which led their people into idolatry. This week, I want to talk about some lessons we can glean from these kings. First, we will talk about Asa.
From today's scripture verse, we see that Asa has a dependence upon the Lord. Asa is desperate for God to come to his aid, and he cries out "to the Lord his God". Asa praises God for who He is and then asks God to come through for him and the nation of Israel.
This desperate cry for God to intervene was badly needed. Asa was about to go to battle against the Cushite nation that had a million soldiers (2 Chronicles 14:9). Asa was severely outmanned and was in need of divine intervention. So what did Asa do? He cried out to God.
I love how Asa responded to this tough and uncertain time in his life by crying out to God. Look at what the author of 2 Chronicles says about who God is to Asa: "the Lord his God". Asa knew God and knew Him to be his God! He knew he could go to God in any and every circumstance!
How about you?
When was the last time you cried out to God in the midst of a tough circumstance? ...in the midst of uncertainty? May we be like Asa of the Old Testament; in tough circumstances, may we cry out to the Lord our God!
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