Meditating 2 Chron 13-16 (May 17)

Remain Reliant On God

Abijah, king of Judah, is used by
God to discipline Jeroboam, king of
Israel. During their battle, 500,000
Israelites fall, a shattering defeat
from which Jeroboam will never
fully recover. What Abijah achieves
in the military sphere, Asa attempts
to duplicate in the spiritual realm.
He removes all traces of foreign
religion from the land & commands
the people to return to the careful
observance of God’s statutes.
But towards the end of his reign,
Asa faces a threat from Baasha
(king of Israel) & seeks an alliance
of protection with the king of Syria.

Lord, thank You for the inspired
word from 2 Chron 14-16 on the
life of King Asa that reveals lessons
on the need to have Faith In You.
Praise You Lord for being Almighty,
Fully Good & Faithful to Your Word.
And recognising in life there are
many crucial decisions to be made,
help us to seek counsel from You
and remember Your mighty deeds.
Help us to Seek Help From You;
Help us to Be Committed To You;
Help us to Trust Fully IN You. Amen.

Lord, help us to Seek Help From U:
King Asa had an army of 300,000
warriors from tribe of Judah and
280,000 from tribe of Benjamin.
Once an Ethiopian named Zerah
attacked Judah with an army of
1 million men and 300 chariots…
Then Asa cried to the Lord his God
O Lord, no one but You can help
the powerless against the mighty!
Help us O Lord our God, for we
trust in You alone. It is in Your name
that we have come against this
vast horde. O Lord, You are our
God; don’t let this mere men
prevail against You! So the Lord
defeated the Ethiopians in the
presence of Asa…(2Chr 14:8-12).
Lord, we cry out to You who can
help when the odds are against us.
Help us exercise faith daily, that
we might naturally look up to You
during peaceful & stormy times.
Thank You for peaceful times and
Your strength during chaos. Amen.

Lord, help us to Be Committed to U:
Then they entered into a covenant
to seek the Lord with all their heart.
They agreed that anyone who
refused to seek the Lord would be
put to death… Eagerly they sought
after God and they found Him.
And the Lord gave them rest
from their enemies on every side…
Although he did not remove the
high places from Israel, Asa’s
heart was Fully Committed to the
Lord all his life (2Chron 15:12-17).
Lord, we learnt that decisive and
whole-hearted Commitment
pleases You and results in peace.
Help us to remember to pray to
You in the good times as we do
in challenging times. Enable us
Lord to always keep our hearts
open to Your high purpose. Amen.

Lord, help us to Trust Fully In You:
Hanani the seer came to King Asa
and told him: Because you have
Put Your Trust in the king of Aram
instead of 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 their
chariots and horsemen? At that
time you relied on the Lord and
He handed them call 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).
Lord, help us to remember Your
past mighty deeds. Grant us the
faith that You are in full control
of the circumstances and help
us to Trust You fully and to stay
fully committed to You. Amen.