PUT YOUR TRUST ONLY IN GOD (2)
2 Chronicles 16:7-9 (AMPC)
“7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, because you relied on the king of Syria and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.
8 Were not the Ethiopians and Libyans a huge host with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied then on the Lord, He gave them into your hand.
9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him. You have done foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you shall have wars.
Dear people of God, again, from today’s lead Holy Bible text, we see the danger of trusting in humans rather than trusting in God.
Asa the king of Judah was under attack from Baasha king of Israel. Asa then went to Ben-Hadad the king of Syria and convinced Ben-Hadad to break his treaty with Israel and join forces with Judah to attack Israel.
Even though the plan worked when Syria attacked Israel and forced them to retreat from their attack against Judah, God was upset with Asa the king of Judah because Asa relied on his enemy, a human being, the king of Syria, rather than rely on God to help him fend off Israel’s attack and also rely on God to defeat Syria.
Sadly, though, rather than repent when God gave Asa this message above in today’s lead Holy Bible text, Asa reacted by arresting and jailing the prophet Hanani.
Later on in his life, Asa had a diseased feet and rather than seeking and relying on God to help him, again, he relied on physicians (doctors) who were unable to help him for 2 whole years until he died from the ailment.
Let us see what God’s Word says about this in 2 Chronicles 16:12-13, “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet–until his disease became very severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but relied on the physicians.
13 And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.”
Seeing the above Scripture, one may argue and say that it is God Who created the physicians and gave them the wisdom to treat and manage medical ailments.
This is very true.
However, it is pertinent to note that God’s Word expressly states that Asa did not seek God in his predicament but relied completely on doctors to help him.
God is using this passage to tell us humans that He ALONE, God Almighty and Father of my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ is the ONLY one we should rely on in every situation.
It is God Who would provide the solution for you by commanding someone to help you in the way God Himself seems best and His solution is always the right one.
Dear friend, this is a very important lesson for us to learn. A lot of people, Christians inclusive, ignorantly go about lamenting their situation, complaining about difficulty in paying bills to solve their medical, rent, marital, school fees, feeding, business and a host of many other problems.
If you are a Christian, a child of the Most High God, this lifestyle pattern of complaining is very offensive to God and God may not respond to your lamentation.
The significant reason God may not respond is because in His eternal, infallible Word, the Holy Bible, God has outlined a number of benefits and rights that accrue to His children.
God in His infinite mercy has also outlined the conditions precedent to obtaining those eternal benefits.
The most significant of the conditions is contained in John 1:12-13, “But to as many as did receive and welcome Him (Jesus Christ), He (Jesus Christ) gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name– [Isa. 56:5.]
13 Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]”
The condition is summarized as follows:
• Repent of sin genuinely
• Confess to God Almighty and forsake sin completely
• Receive and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Messiah and believe that Jesus died to save all mankind including you
• Study, believe and completely obey God’s Word in the Holy Bible
This is what qualifies you and any other human being to become a child of God and to receive the rights and privileges of God’s children in today’s world.
It is ignorance and rejection of this fact of God’s Word and reliance on fellow humans that is responsible for the avoidable suffering billions of people are experiencing in today’s world.
It is not God’s fault that this is happening because God has made it clear in His Word in the Holy Bible how to obtain His benefits. God has also sent out messengers, the Christians, to go into the entire world and preach this same message.
While some have believed, accepted and are reaping the benefits, majority of others are rejecting the message, following humans, following satan and reaping immense suffering in the process.
This is why by God’s special Grace I have brought you once again this day the Gospel message of Repentance and eternal Salvation found only in Jesus Christ.
Men will disappoint you but Jesus Christ will never ever disappoint you because He loves you with an everlasting love and Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever – Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6.
I invite you to accept this call from Jesus Christ today and now for your own good. Tomorrow may be too late.
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Powerful Name, Amen.
Gabriel Ama
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