Learning From A Godly King’s Mistake
Life is challenging. We live such complicated lives that problems can spring upon us at any moment from multiple directions. It could be a health issue, an unexpected financial crisis, a relationship that blew up or one of the gazillion mechanical devices in your life went kaput! Some problems are just a nuisance and can be dealt with quickly. Others knock the wind out of us, as if we were sucker punched in the gut! Sometimes a mistake can make problems worse.
There’s a story in the Old Testament about a king who faced a huge problem. He overcame the problem but made a mistake in the process. His name was King Asa and he was the king of the southern kingdom of Judah. His problem was the king of the northern kingdom of Israel attacked him with a large army 2 Chronicles 16:1. That sort of thing happened quite a bit in those days. In fact, previously an army of one million Ethiopians attacked Judah. That time King Asa cried out to God for help and God miraculously delivered him! 2 Chronicles 14:9-14
This time, however, King Asa didn’t ask God for help. That was his mistake. Instead he came up with his own plan. He took some of his wealth and hired the king of Syria as a mercenary to attack the king of Israel. His plan worked. The king of Israel stopped attacking.
This sounds good but it was in fact a major failure. After the victory the Lord sent the prophet Hanani to tell King Asa he blew it. His mistake was not relying upon God as he had done previously. The consequence was that because of his mistake from that time on he would continually face wars.
There is a wonderful lesson for us in the words that Hanani said to King Asa when he explained what the real problem was.
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. 2 Chronicles 16:9
The Lord wants to help and looks to help those who rely upon Him and are godly in their actions. Here are three lessons we can learn from Asa’s mistake.
[Tweet “The Lord wants to help us and at times we won’t let Him.”]
3 Lessons From Asa’s Mistake
- Don’t leave God out of your plans. Even though your plans work, they’re still wrong if you leave God out. Trust God in every problem and situation.
- Your godly past won’t prevent you from making a mistake in the future 2 Chronicles 14:2. We must be vigilant to walk with God every day. Even godly, mature Christians blow it.
- The Lord is looking for godly people to help. We often wonder if we should ask God for help? He wants to help us so much that He’s looking for us. That is such a wonderful image!
[Tweet “The best way to get God’s help in a crisis is to act godly through it!”]
Whatever you are going through today, seek the Lord. As Him for wisdom, help, grace and favor. Don’t stop trusting Him. It’s when we stop trusting that we make a mistake!
How have you learned to rely upon the Lord? Please leave a comment or question below.
