When we are stressed, anxious, feeling undone, needy, confused, in trouble or feeling hopeless and helpless, where do we look for help?
I’m thinking about help that really matters, help that is consistent with God’s word. When I want help, I am looking for guidance that will truly strengthen me, calm me, and build me up in accordance with God’s word.
Where do we look?
Far too often I find myself looking at my own limited knowledge, and I’ve learned that is dangerous, because it is far too subjective, and about me.
My next step can be to look to people. As long as they are Godly people, people who are in God’s word, and reliant upon Him, that is good. But looking to ungodly people most likely will not produce the answers we truly need. (Note: I’m not talking about medical help.)
But God wants me to immediately come to Him before I seek help from people.
Where should we look?
We should look to our Maker, our amazing Lord and Redeemer!
We should look to God’s word. He has given us the absolute best resource for help, and it is far too easy to miss the best resource by going to secondary resources.
I’ve experienced God “speaking” to me through His word. It isn’t an audible voice, but close to it!
He tells us His word is “living and active” [Hebrews 4:12], and I can testify to His word being alive and active in my life.
When we look to God first for help, we experience His personal involvement in our lives.
He blesses us. He encourages us. He strengthens us.
King Asa, one of Israel’s kings, experienced God’s involvement and blessing in his life, when he sought help from Him:
2 Chronicles 14:2-15:7:
14:2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. [That is what I want God to say about me.]
3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.
An amazing work on Asa’s part. He would have gone against the crowd to do this, but God was honored, and Asa was blessed. We need to ask ourselves what is sinful in our lives that we need to destroy, with God’s help.
7 “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
Note that Asa attributes rest to God, not to their acts of obedience. Too often we want to claim credit for the blessing because we obeyed. God should always be credited for the blessings, AND for our ability to obey Him!
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.
9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
Certainly, a time to call upon God for help. What “army” is marching against you – financial struggles, marital problems, issues with children, etc.? Where will you look for help?
11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”
Asa got it right! He called upon God. He made certain to remind himself of the character of God – all powerful, reliable, and The Victor in our battles!
12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. 14 They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. 15 They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
AMAZING! As we read what took place in these verses, we should be in awe of God. Only the Lord could bring about such an outcome with odds piled up against His people. God is the same today, as He was in Asa’s day. Will you trust Him for the victory, as Asa and the Israelites did, or will you attempt to win the battle by worldly means? If you choose worldly means, how far do you think you will get, compared to what God could do for you?
15:1 The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”
Please be sure to pause and reread verses 15:1-7. They contain a stern warning for people, and an amazing promise for those who truly love God – these apply to everyone from Asa’s day until Jesus returns and this existence is finalized.
Noteworthy is God’s promise to be with His people. Today, all true followers of Jesus are permanently indwelt by His Holy Spirit.
But God will not be mocked. He knows each of our hearts. He knows who truly loves Him, and those who put on a religious front – hypocrites who think they are getting away with something. God promises to help all who truly love Him, but He will bring judgment on those who do not.
God is forgiving. If you have not yet made Christ your Lord and Savior, ALL your sins are forgiven in Christ, and you will experience that forgiveness when you confess them, and seek Him wholeheartedly. Jeremiah 29:12-13 also holds this promise.
Can I help you develop a relationship with Jesus? Please contact me at the email below.
Next week, the rest of Asa’s story.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!
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Copyright 2022 Donna Shappy
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