Faith Capsule: Having a loyal heart before God is to know and always wait on God.
2 Chronicles 14, 15, 16
The book of Isaiah 30:18 documented, “Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” Going by the scriptural verse, it is safe to conclude that God is God that waits to act for ones that wait on Him. God waiting to act for ones that wait on Him is the evidence of His truth.
When challenges are taking to God the only caring God, challenges are set to be permanently terminated. A failure not to take challenges to God is not relying on God.
Asa faced a confronting challenge when Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. (2 Chronicles 14:9) Asa knew he was not capable to fight the battle when he called for God’s intervention. Asa knew to the reliance on God.
The Bible stated, 2 Chronicles 14:12-13 stated how God responded to help Asa because Asa relied on Him, “So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army. And they carried away very much spoil.” When God fight our battle, the battle becomes a permanent termination.
Later in Asa’s reign, he could not rely on God but failed by not waiting on God that always wait to act for those who call on Him.
It happened that when Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, Asa turned to Ben-Hadad of Syria for help. The result of Asa’s turning to Ben-Hadad was not waiting on God. As a result, “…Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.” Asa did not do well by not relying on God and it testified to the truth that Asa’s heart was not loyal to God when Hanani the seer stated in his word to Asa, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) Having a loyal heart before God is to know and always wait on God. Activate a loyal heart for God and His eyes will locate you to show Himself strong on your behalf.
Prayer for today: Ask for the strength of waiting on God.