Finishing Strong

I was reading about King Asa in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14

I was so excited to learn about this great king. He was inspiring me. He heard a word of the LORD through the prophet Azariah. King Asa didn’t just listen…he HEARD and heeded the word and “took courage and removed all the idols in the land of Judah and Benjamin” 2 Chronicles 14:8

King Asa also repaired the altar of the LORD and gathered the people together to offer sacrifices to the LORD. Through King Asa’s obedience, he and the people entered into a covenant with the LORD to seek the LORD with all their heart and soul (2Chron14:12). King Asa agreed to put to death anyone who refused to seek the LORD. God gave him victory over the Ethiopians and Libyans. He even “deposed his grandmother…from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down the pole and broke it up…” 2 Chron. 14:16.

Wow! This King was awesome.

He stood up for righteous in an amazing way! He helped lead the people BACK INTO a covenant relationship with the LORD and even stood up for righteousness against his very own grandmother! What a guy!

Then I read on…He wants to enter into a treaty with the king of Syria. As I read, it doesn’t sound like a bad plan…but as it turns out, King Asa was siding with Syria, a pagan nation and losing His confidence in the LORD. Asa now had confidence in the flesh.

“Oh no!” I thought. “Not another one LORD. Not another person in scripture who turned from
their strong witness to backslide and reject you and your Word.”

As I read on I learned about a seer named Hanani that boldly told King Asa his fate, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the LORD your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and horsemen? At that time you relied on the LORD and he handed them all over to you. The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on, you will be at war.” 2 Chron 16:7-9

My heart ached. See I have asked this SAME QUESTION Hanani asked, “What happened?”

I think it’s the hardest thing to see someone walk away from the LORD. These people are miserable. They know the truth, but they reject the truth. They have seen and experienced God work in their lives but they forget. They know God’s Word but don’t trust in it (or Him) anymore. They have taken their eyes off of God and put it on man.

What do we do? We are puzzled and confused and ask what happened? I believe with all of my heart that part of backsliding has to do with forgetfulness.

In Veggie Tales, Madame Blueberry there is a song that says, “A happy heart is a thankful heart.” Well I would add, “A mindful heart is a trusting heart.”

When we are “mindful” we constantly bring to remembrance those things God has done for us. If we remind ourselves of who God is and what He has done (and will do in the future) there is no room for confidence in the flesh.

You see, the believer remembers, “I once was lost but now I’m found” The backslider acts this way- I was lost, then found, now lost again.

Oh how my heart aches over so many who have fallen away or even those who are just not walking strong in the LORD like they used to. One of the greatest things that grieves my heart is someone who says, “Oh yeah. I have read the Bible. I used to be in small group Bible studies. I used to be in prayer groups….been involved at church, been there done that.”

When people say this it breaks my heart! These people are talking about the PAST. God is not a God of the past! He is not like a magician that pops out of the bottle when we need Him and then goes back into the bottle when things are good or easy. God is the God of yesterday, today AND TOMORROW.

We need to have a mindful heart in order to finish strong.
King Asa was awesome. He renewed the covenant with the LORD. He was bold in his faith. He even rebuked members of his own family for pagan practices. But King Asa didn’t CONTINUE in his faith. He left his faith when he started to forget. He forgot about the victory God gave him. He forgot about all the times God was there for him. He forgot about the joy and peace the nation experienced when God was the LORD and on the throne of their lives.

Yesterday’s faith is not enough.

Look at Spurgeon’s commentary on King Asa’s backsliding:
“The power of Ethiopia [the more difficult trial] was broken before him, and Judah’s armies returned laden with the spoil. You would not have thought that a man who could perform that grand action would become, a little after, full of unbelief; but the greatest faith of yesterday will not give us confidence for to-day, unless the fresh springs which are in God shall overflow again.” (Spurgeon)

See King Asa saw Ethiopia as a nation too great, too big for him and went to God for help. But later, he saw the smaller kingdom of Syria as “no big deal” and decided to handle the problem himself.

I love what Spurgeon said, “the greatest faith of yesterday will not give us confidence for today.”

We have to remind ourselves DAILY of what God has done. Our faith from yesterday WILL grow stale.

Think about it….if you are married, you remember the first time your spouse said, “I love you” but is that enough? No! You want to be reminded about your spouse’s love every day. That’s the point of a relationship...A relationship deepens and grows as you SPEND TIME with each other. The same way, our relationship with God deepens and grows as we spend time in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship and in sharing of the things God has done.

I am saddened by the King Asa’s in my life. I pray for them. We need to also remember that WE TOO can be like King Asa. Seeking God in the big trials, but neglecting God in the small ones…No matter the circumstance, every season, every day we need to pray and stay connected to the vine. (John 15:5)

Have faith and don’t stop praying for people. Not all backsliders end up like King Asa. Keep praying for the backslidden people in your life….remember the prodigal and remember Peter (re-commissioned).

So if our God is so good why do people back slide anyway? Sin, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, the enemy, the world’s temptations…the list goes on and on…but King Asa’s reason for backsliding was due to pride in his flesh AND forgetfulness. May we remind ourselves DAILY of what God has done so we may finish strong!