For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war. 2 Chronicles 16:9

Suppose that you are the King of Luxembourg, and you learn that your small kingdom is about to be invaded by Germany.  Would you be more comfortable having a non-aggression treaty with France, Britain and Switzerland or relying upon the words of a prophet saying that if your heart is fully committed to the Lord, God will see you through and deliver you?

It’s the same old question: Which gives you greater comfort, the cold steel of a gun in your hand or the promises of God’s Word that He will protect you and keep you?  Long ago, God sent a prophet whose name was Hanani to a man whose name was Asa; who at that time was the King of Judah.  The prophet’s message was simple: Why did you make a non-aggression treaty with the King of Aram (Syria today) instead of trusting God for your safety?  Here are his words: “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  Then he added, “You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Question:  Do you ever wonder what God could and would do in your personal life, provided you trusted Him instead of the arm of the flesh?  “Whoa!” you may be thinking, quickly adding, “What’s wrong with non-aggression treaties?”

The old prophet’s message was simple and unnerving: Either trust God, or trust men and face the consequences of war.  We’re still facing those same choices today.  I couldn’t help thinking of this dilemma when a young woman sat in my office explaining that she no longer loved her husband but she did love another man—which, she felt, was justification for walking out of her marriage.  I explained, “Look, somebody is going to get hurt.  The only choice is who–your husband and son, or the man you now think you love?”

Trust God or face the consequences of war!  But our problem is still the same as that which confronted King Asa.  It’s easier from a human perspective to trust something that we can see, something we can feel, something which we know is real.

It’s the same situation as that which confronted a little girl who persistently left her school bag outside and when it was time to do her homework, she couldn’t find it.  One evening her dad said, “Look, you left it outside.  Go out there and find it.”
“But, daddy,” she argued, “it’s dark out there and I’m afraid of the dark.”

Her father countered, “God’s out there just like He is in here.  Nothing to be afraid of. Now get out there and find your books.”

The little girl reluctantly went to the door and opened it.  It was dark, and she didn’t want to go outside.  “God,” she finally said quietly, “if you’re out there, will you please hand me my book bag.”

Can you trust God?  If you are God’s child, you can stand on the promises of His Word and realize that the one thing God cannot do is to break His Word.  In so many areas of our lives—our marriage, our children, our businesses, our relationships—we can either take things in our own hands and do what we feel like doing, or back off and ask, “God what do you want me to do?” trusting Him to guide us.

The consequence of leaving Him out of your life, as King Asa discovered, is often war and trouble.  When you can’t see beyond yourself, you almost always try to fix things yourself and end up in with greater problems.

 

Resource reading: 2 Chronicles 16:1-9