Have you heard the phrase “foxhole conversions”? Those are times when someone is under severe stress, and they ask God for help, often bargaining with Him. “God, please get me out of this, and I’ll follow you.” However, most people fail to keep their end of the bargain, because God is only their emergency plan, not their lifelong pursuit.

But God is not fooled by those insincere words. He knows the difference between the person who really is ready for a relationship with Him, and the person who is looking for an emergency plan.

In 1 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 13, we read the story of King Abijah. He was the king of the southern kingdom of the nation of Israel. He was a man who experienced God’s help, but wasn’t in a lifelong pursuit of God.

In 2 Chronicles 13:1 -21: We are told that Abijah reigned for 3 years, and he was at war with Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom. “Abijah went into battle with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops.” [The odds were not in Abijah’s favor.] 

Abijah gave a history lesson to Jeroboam: “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them. And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn’t you drive out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.

“As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. [But were they really worshipping Him in Spirit and truth, or were they going through religious activity, as the following verses describe?] The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.” 

Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.  Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men.  The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors. [They relied on the Lord as their emergency plan, but their hearts were not in it for the duration. We know this because of the rest of the events recorded in the Bible.]

Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died. [God gave the victory, but what did Abijah do with it? Keep reading.]

But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. [This was clearly disobedience to God. Deuteronomy 17:17 was God’s command to the kings of Israel: “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” These wives often were from backgrounds that brought with them idols they worshipped. The kings then succumbed to this worship, henceforth, rejecting the one true living God.]

You may think, it couldn’t be that bad, but the rest of the story is summarized as follows in 1 Kings 15:1-3:

“In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom.  He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.”

Abijah used God as his emergency plan, but failed to pursue Him as His Lord for all the days of his life.

How sad that the mercy and grace of God that Abijah experienced hadn’t led him to a pursuit of God.

Where are we with God? Is He the One we pursue each day, or do we give Him attention when we want Him to perform for us? How do we respond to God’s mercy and grace that He gives us each day?

How do we know if God is our lifelong pursuit?

Here are a few indicators:

God is the One we run to for our needs. His Word is our go to every day. We spend time with Him in His Word. We allow Him to talk to us through His Word, and submit to His authority in our lives through obedience to His Word. We don’t do this perfectly, but it is increasingly the case in our lives.

As our character is being changed to be more like Jesus, the evidence of His Holy Spirit’s work in our lives according to Galatians 5:22-23, reveals that we are seeking God in a lifelong pursuit.

I’d be honored to talk to you about your relationship with Jesus. He came to earth, purposely, to go to the cross to pay the debt for our sin. Have you realized you are a sinner in need of a Savior? If so, Jesus is waiting for you to ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. It is the most important decision in your life. It is a matter of your eternal welfare.  If God has only been your emergency plan, it is time to change that so that He is your lifelong pursuit.

Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com if you would like to about a lifelong pursuit of God.

Living for Jesus, Donna

P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!

Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you.

Copyright 2022 Donna Shappy  All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.