1 Chronicles 14-16 tells the story of King Asa of Judah, who was a descendant of David. Early in his reign, Judah was attacked by the Ethiopians, they cried out to the Lord for help and he gave them victory over the king of Ethiopia. When Judah was returning from their victory the Lord sent a prophet to King Asa to encourage Judah in their pursuit of God…”The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.”(vs 15:2)
These words set Asa on fire for the Lord and he began a cleansing of Judah of pagan idols, they did restoration work in the temple, and they renewed their covenant to the Lord…”All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side.”(15:15)
Many years later Judah again was threatened by Israel, but this time instead of praying to the Lord, Asa stripped the temple of it’s gold and silver and paid a nearby Pagan nation to drive Israel away…(?)…immediately the Lord again sent a Prophet to inform Asa of his mistake, Asa did not take too kindly to the warning and threw the guy in jail, one of the last thing it says about Asa is this…”In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the LORD’s help but turned only to his physicians.” (vs 16:2)
How do we go from the mountaintop to the valley? In this case, it seems that Asa’s pride kept him from doing the right thing or even from repenting when he was confronted with his mistake, King David had that same opportunity and chose repentance, we also have that choice. It is easy as a believer to fall into complacency and even pride after a time. Often we become over-confident and put aside prayer and bible study, not intentionally, but out of the routine of life. We often think that because we go to church, volunteer, or had an amazing experience with God 6 months ago then all is well, but it is a trap of the enemy and too many of us are Christians only when the troubled waters come and that is why it may seem like we are always in the troubled waters. The Israelites needed manna everyday in the desert, God kept them in a place of needing Him, which kept their focus on Him…OH, but He so desired to bring them into the place of milk and honey, the place of blessing!!
God so desires us to dwell in that place of blessing with Him, don’t ever be afraid to turn back to the Lord after a mistake, in Christ there is always victory!
“For the LORD delights in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.”(Psalm 149:4 NLT)
