2 Chronicles 15:1, 2  “The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” (NIV)

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Some leaders struggle to start well. Others struggle to finish well. Some are bad at both ends of their timelines. 

King Asa started well. In fact, he started very well and did well for a long time. Verse 8 tells us how encouraged he was by Azariah’s words. King Asa led the community of leaders into a covenant to seek God with all their heart and soul. (See verse 12.) Everyone rejoiced about this oath. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. The Lord gave them rest on every side. (See verse 15.)

A couple of decades later, Asa had either forgotten or chosen to ignore the oath he had sworn with such confidence. God gave him and the nation success, peace, and prosperity. However, when a moment of crisis arose, Asa did not go to God. Instead, he devised a plan of his own that put him under the thumb of the king of Aram. 

The cost of this decision was far greater than the silver and gold he sent to buy protection and peace. He never thought to take his problems to God. The end of his timeline was approaching more quickly than he knew, and he, in his choice to turn to a foreign king instead of his hometown God, would ensure that he finished poorly. 

It didn’t have to be this way. One of the most famous verses in the whole book of 2 Chronicles is found in 16:9. 

“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.”

As God had delivered him before, so he would deliver him now if he would turn to him the way he had done before. Asa missed or forgot that he was successful because of God’s intervention. He chose not to turn to God when he needed it most, guaranteeing his failure. 

God wants to bless us more than we want to be blessed by him. He wants us to live lives he can bless. This does not mean perfection. It means pursuing the heart of God. It means seeking to know Him, love Him, and follow His will and His ways. 

How frustrating must it be for all of heaven to hear God tell us to lean on him and to trust him for all of the resources he can provide, and yet we choose to lean on lesser things that drive a wedge between us and all of God’s goodness. 

This is a good time to remind ourselves of Proverbs 3:5-7. I love the way the message puts it:

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own. 
Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track. 
Don’t assume that you know it all. 
Run to GOD! Run from evil!

God is looking for fully devoted hearts. He is looking for people who trust Him from the bottom of their hearts. The big question for you and me is will He find us fully devoted and completely trusting? 

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I will live a life of full devotion to God and trust in his will and ways. 

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Our Father, what else would I trust in but you? I fail far too often to think I could ever accomplish what is before me on my own. I need you. My heart is yours to strengthen. My will and ways are yours to direct. I belong to you. Amen.