Etchings on My Heart - Day 2

What do we put our hope in? We can start out completely faithful to God and yet not put our trust in Him in certain areas of our lives and miss out on His full blessings.

In 2 Chronicles 15, we see King Asa being encouraged by Azariah who brought a message to him after the victorious battle with the Ethiopians (see 2 Chronicles 14:9-13). Azariah's word was that God would stay with King Asa as long as Asa trusted only in God. It seems simple enough to trust God as we watch Him move in our lives,  but the world has a way of creeping in and trying to take control.

So, for a while, Asa had favor with God. He cried out and God heard him and defeated the Ethiopian army before his eyes. This mighty act even caused Asa to "clean house", removing most of those things that were detestable to the Lord. And even though the pagan shrines were not destroyed, the scripture says that Asa's heart remained completely faithful throughout his life, and God allowed Asa and his people to have rest from their enemies. But the rest was contingent on Asa's complete trust in God.

As time moves on, though, we, like the Israelites, tend to forget what God has done for us, what He's capable of doing for us and, most of all, what He desires to do for us, as did King Asa. In 2 Chronicles 16, when King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah to keep people from coming or going into King Asa's territories, Asa's response was "fearful"; first he removed the gold and silver treasures then he sought favor from King Ben-hadad from Aram. In the battle with the Ethiopians, Asa gave a "fearless" response; first he deployed his armies, though they were a little more than half the size, and then he consulted the Lord for favor. Different responses and different outcomes. After Baasha's , Hanani the seer came and told King Asa that because he had put his trust in the king of Aram and not in God, that his enemies would not be defeated and he would no longer have rest from his enemies like he had enjoyed in the past.

And so again, I ask the question, what do we put our hope in? It's easy to go to God when we feel we have no other options, but where do we go when their are various possible solutions to our issues? What happens when the headache we have can be relieved by the bottle in the medicine cabinet or when a family member can loan us money for an overdue bill, or when a lawyer, doctor or an accountant can get us out of the jam? Who do we call when we're afraid or alone? Who do we call when we're depressed or overwhelmed? There have been many occasions when I've picked up the phone to dial a friend and they're not at home, any of them. What God is gently saying to me is come home, tell Daddy all about it - "I have a mighty hand and an outstretched arm" (Psalm 136:12). The Lord wants to be the one we run to, the only One, and when we do, that builds our faith. I'm not saying that medicine, family members, doctors, lawyers and accountants are bad, I'm just saying we have a first responder that we should call when we're in need!

Ex. 6:6; Num 11:23; Deut 5:15, 7:19, 26:8; 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Kings 17:36; 2 Chron 32:8; Ps 44:3