Monday, November 9, 2009
Lessons from the Kings
Below are thoughts from one of our staff members, Mike Barclay:
The history of the kings of Israel and Judah is pretty depressing. It seems that for every good king you read about, you have to suffer through 10 bad ones. Once you get to 2 Chronicles 14:2 however, there are some very refreshing words; “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God”. Asa is one of my favorite kings for several reasons. One reason is that his reign started strong. He removed the things in the land that didn’t honor God. He repaired the altar which was in ruins. When he faced a battle that he had no chance of winning he depended on God rather than on his own strengths and abilities and he won the battle convincingly. Under King Asa, Judah prospered and was at peace for 35 years. The second reason that I like the account of King Asa is that it gives us a very stern warning about what it takes to finish strong. You see, after 35 years of success, Asa found himself in a situation that once again threatened the land of Judah. This situation was nothing as fierce as the one he faced at the beginning of his reign when he allowed God to win the battle for him. The difference in this situation however, is that he didn’t involve God in it. He looked to his own abilities and resources and to those of a neighboring country. King Asa had forgotten where he came from and who had delivered him in the first place. The end result is that he lost control of the situation, got bitter at the prophet who told him that his failure was a result of not trusting in God and he ended up dying of a foot disease because he would only seek help from the doctors and he refused to seek God’s intervention.
King Asa is a reminder to us that what matters isn’t necessarily how we start, but how we continue on, especially when things get tough. We have always tried to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with in the good times and in the bad. As a result, we have seen God do wonderful and miraculous things at Wheeler Mission Ministries over the years. During these uncertain economic times, we will continue to be ever vigilant in seeking God’s guidance and direction in utilizing the gifts and resources that good people like you share with us for the Kingdom of God each and every day.
Thanks for reading our Blog! Please leave a comment.
The history of the kings of Israel and Judah is pretty depressing. It seems that for every good king you read about, you have to suffer through 10 bad ones. Once you get to 2 Chronicles 14:2 however, there are some very refreshing words; “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God”. Asa is one of my favorite kings for several reasons. One reason is that his reign started strong. He removed the things in the land that didn’t honor God. He repaired the altar which was in ruins. When he faced a battle that he had no chance of winning he depended on God rather than on his own strengths and abilities and he won the battle convincingly. Under King Asa, Judah prospered and was at peace for 35 years. The second reason that I like the account of King Asa is that it gives us a very stern warning about what it takes to finish strong. You see, after 35 years of success, Asa found himself in a situation that once again threatened the land of Judah. This situation was nothing as fierce as the one he faced at the beginning of his reign when he allowed God to win the battle for him. The difference in this situation however, is that he didn’t involve God in it. He looked to his own abilities and resources and to those of a neighboring country. King Asa had forgotten where he came from and who had delivered him in the first place. The end result is that he lost control of the situation, got bitter at the prophet who told him that his failure was a result of not trusting in God and he ended up dying of a foot disease because he would only seek help from the doctors and he refused to seek God’s intervention.
King Asa is a reminder to us that what matters isn’t necessarily how we start, but how we continue on, especially when things get tough. We have always tried to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with in the good times and in the bad. As a result, we have seen God do wonderful and miraculous things at Wheeler Mission Ministries over the years. During these uncertain economic times, we will continue to be ever vigilant in seeking God’s guidance and direction in utilizing the gifts and resources that good people like you share with us for the Kingdom of God each and every day.
Thanks for reading our Blog! Please leave a comment.
