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"For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to Him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on."
(2 Chronicles 16:9, CSB)
Recently, I have picked up running! I can honestly say it is a love-hate relationship. I hate starting, but I love finishing a run and the feeling afterwards. In my novice running endeavors, I have started to realize something for myself: the last bit is the hardest.
Now, some of you may laugh at this, disagree with this, or perhaps say "amen" to this, but hear me out. The path I run is a giant square, and the last straightaway is the hardest, because I know it is the last one. After this last straightaway, I get to drink water, get out of the heat, take a shower, and relax! I always want to finish strong. I want to not break my pace as I finish, and in all honesty, I actually want to pick up the pace at the end, because I want to be done quicker!
Finishing a task is very important. Finishing well is even more important. Sadly, our King Asa did not have a good finish. From today's scripture verse, we see that the end of Asa's life was littered with wars. Why was this the case? Well, Asa stopped relying on God (2 Chronicles 16:7; 12). Yesterday, we discussed how Asa relied on God in the big battle. However, toward the end of his life, Asa decided to rely on friends and modern practices to get him through life's tough circumstances.
Asa did not finish well because he chose to stop relying on the Lord and started relying on the wisdom, tips, and tricks of the world. May we not be like Asa in this regard! May we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, as those who have a relationship with Christ, constantly, daily, and actively depend on what the Lord says through His word and not what the world says!
The Bible says that God is looking for someone who is wholeheartedly devoted to Him. May God be able to stop His looking; may His eyes stop roaming when He comes across you and I. Let us be wholeheartedly devoted to God at the beginning of our lives and to the very end! We don't want to start out great, like Asa did, only to not finish well at the end of our lives. No, we want to be faithful to the end and wholeheartedly dependent on God!
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