“The main measure of your devotion to God is not your devotional life. It is simply your life.”
John Ortberg
I love to people watch. Whether it’s at an airport or in the Word of God, I’m intrigued with why people do things. I recently read II Chronicles chapters fifteen and sixteen and I was puzzled by King Asa’s behavior. The King of Judah got off to a good start when the prophet Azariah’s words convicted him to seek the Lord. His courage led him to remove idols and his people entered into a covenant with the Lord. The result: God was found by them and gave them rest (II Chronicles 15:15). Dependence on God brought them deliverance.
But in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign when the King of Israel went up against him, instead of relying upon God, Asa chose to depend on the king of Aram to come through for him. The seer Hanani in II Chronicles 16:8b-9a, went to King Asa and said, “Yet when you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”
I’m curious as to why King Asa started off well and maintained his devotion to God for thirty-five years, but then trusted in a man, rather than God, to deliver them. Since I want to finish well, I wonder why Asa’s wholeheartedness waned.
God doesn’t want half-hearted devotion. He wants His children to be “all in,” fully committed to Him and His will. And when we are 100 percent whole hearted, then He promises to strengthen our hearts, knowing we will need courage to obey.
Sometimes I think I know what’s best and the perfect timing for circumstances to play out. A few weeks ago, I was impatient with how slow I felt things were moving. And that’s when I read these chapters in II Chronicles. Convicted to my core, I repented and asked God to help me remain fully committed to Him, knowing that’s where I’ll find my rest. I needed to depend upon God for deliverance and for His perfect timing. Out of my hands and into His, I gave Him the whole situation and asked Him to make me courageous to always obey His will.
May we rely upon God, and only God, for our deliverance. And may we seek Him to help us become wholehearted in our devotion, fully committed to do His will.
“Simplified living is about more than doing less. It’s being who God called us to be, with a wholehearted, single-minded focus.”
Bill Hybels
Relevant Reflections:
How wholehearted is your devotion to God?
Describe a time when your dependence upon God brought deliverance.
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