dependence

2 Chronicles 14-16 – What Happened?!

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Every once in a while you come across a story of a former celebrity whose life is in shambles. Maybe they’re in trouble with the law, or they’ve filed for bankruptcy, or they’ve taken their own life. And you ask yourself, “What happened?”

That’s the type of story you find in 2 Chronicles chapters 14-16. It begins with King Asa living a blessed life. He is a faithful leader who’s committed to God and to his people. The nation is both peaceful and fortified. It was a golden age.

But, by the end of 2 Chronicles chapter 16, the country is plagued with war, the priests and the people are oppressed, and the king is plagued with a foot disease that eventually kills him. What happened?!

What happened was that king Asa stopped doing the one thing that had brought him and his country such success. He stopped depending on God. Instead, Asa started trusting himself and a foreign king.

Over the 25 years between his first battle and his last, Asa forgot the victories that came through trusting God alone. The years of success caused Asa to become complacent and arrogant. Twenty-five years of peace left him unprepared for king Baasha’s attack.

This failure to depend on God leads Asa to become angry. And rather than repenting, Asa begins to oppress the priests and the people. He eventually contracts a foot disease that takes his life. Asa stopped depending on God and it literally became the death of him.

If it happened to Asa, it could happen to you. What keeps you from depending on God? Fear? Pride? Complacency? Whatever it is, it’s killing you in every way. Life and success are found in trusting in and depending on God.

1 Chronicles 3-4 – A Glimmer of Hope

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Watching the news, with all its stories of tragedy and corruption, can challenge your optimism.

But once in a while, you get a tidbit of good news breaking through the negative drone. A human interest story that catches your attention and gives you hope in the midst of all the negative.

This occurs in 1 Chronicles chapters 3-4. 1 Chronicles chapter 3 begins by listing the sons King David had by his many wives and concubines. There, you find the son of a woman with whom David committed adultery…later murdering her husband and lying about it. Also included in the list is the son of the daughter of a foreign king. This son would later rebel against his father David.

Then, 1 Chronicles chapter 4 outlines the greedy and murderous accumulation of land, property, and towns by the descendants of Simeon.

But, in the midst of this darkness, there’s a two-verse ray of hope about a man named Jabez. (1 Chron. 4:9-10) Out of distress and pain, he grew to become one of the most distinguished men of his time. He lived a life of blessing and accumulation, all because of his loyalty and dependence on the God of Israel. This little human interest story catches our attention and gives us hope that we too can be something different in the midst of droning bad news.

But be careful. It’s easy to corrupt this story and turn its focus from one of total dependence on God to one of finding the formula to get more stuff. The first approach will improve the bad news, while the second will just add to it.

1 Kings 4 – Here and Now

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“It doesn’t get any better than this.” It’s something we say when things feel good, worries seem to evaporate, and all seems right with the world. Maybe you’ve said it on the beach, during a vacation, at your favorite restaurant, or just someplace with your feet kicked up.

It’s a statement that fits 1 Kings chapter 4, because in this chapter…

It’s easy to assume all of this just happened; that it was just the “luck of the draw.” But remember, 1 Kings chapter 4 is preceded by 1 Kings chapters 2 and 3. The foundation for this current prosperity and peace was laid through a past pursuit of God and a willingness to make difficult decisions for Him.

The “here and now” is a product of the “there and then.” And this “here and now” is the preparation for a future “out there.” One stream flows into the other. A future of prosperity and peace depends on a present pursuit and dependence on God…and the willingness to make the difficult decisions that will align us with Him.

If the future is to be a time when we say, “It doesn’t get any better than this,” we must pave the way in the “here and now” by pursuing God and making difficult decisions for Him…now!

Joshua 10 – Are You Dependent or Overconfident?

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I remember learning to ride a bike as a child. There were times when I had this great boost of confidence. I would think, “I really am doing it! I really am riding this bike all by my self!” Only to look back and find my dad still holding on to the bike and keeping me from falling.

As a teenager, I would often have this burst of over-confidence/cockiness thinking, “I’m in control of my life and can do what I want to!” Only to look back and find my dad supplying the car, the gas, the insurance, the place to live, the food….in short, everything.

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