Blog Navigation

GRIP Thoughts - June 24, 2016

Reading through Kings and Chronicles in the Old Testament can seem like a bit of a roller coaster ride at times! One minute you are reading about a good king who pursues righteousness and wholeheartedly follows God, and the next you find yourself falling down a rabbit hole alongside the entire nations of Israel and Judah as their kings lead them on a path of wickedness, idolatry, and destruction. In fact, some of the kings you read about are so bad and so depraved that they leave you feeling like you are breathing in a breath of sweet, fresh air when you get to read the stories of men like Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah.

I have actually found this historical journey through Kings and Chronicles to be extremely prolific and thought provoking over the course of the last few weeks. I am inspired by the devotion of the good kings, who “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD”, and cautioned by those kings who abandoned the one true God to follow after worthless idols. Over and over again, I find these stories reminding me of a common theme that is strung throughout: those who follow God and seek Him wholeheartedly experience His blessing.

Take Uzziah (also known as Azariah; 2 Kings 15, 2 Chron 26), for example. Placed on the throne at the young age of sixteen, the Bible says that “as long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success” (2 Chron 26:5b). The story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 is another great case in point. When he and his people were faced with certain destruction as their enemies closed in upon them, Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast for all of Judah. People from all over the nation joined together in fervent prayer as their good King admitted his utter helplessness before the LORD and declared that he would rely on the only One who could save his people. And what did God do? He defeated the enemy for them! Jehoshaphat’s army never even saw the battle! Finally, look at the life of King Hezekiah. In 2 Kings 18:5-7 we read:

“There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following Him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.”

He was successful in whatever he undertook! Why? Because he held fast to the LORD and did not stop following Him. Need more proof? Read 2 Chronicles 31:21: “In everything that [Hezekiah] undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”

It’s not a formula, or a recipe to be followed. It’s not as though you add a tablespoon of devotion here, a cup of obedience there, bake it for an hour, and out comes your blessing. It’s a matter of the heart. The fact is that there were some kings whose hearts were committed to following the one true God, and there were other kings who got caught up in following the ways of the world. But as we read through their stories, it becomes more and more evident that God showed favor to the ones who were devoted to Him.

The reality is that God loves us. He is for us. He wants us to experience His blessing in our lives! But when we follow the ways of the wicked kings of Israel—pursuing what the world offers us rather than what God offers us, and devoting our hearts and minds to man-made “idols”—we push away the blessing that God is reserving for us. We can’t experience it, because we are too busy focusing on the things that we think matter more. It’s not until we let go of trying to secure our own blessings for ourselves, and trust completely in God, that we will truly experience what He has in store for us. King Jehoshaphat could have taken matters into his own hands. He could have mustered his troops for battle and even called in backup from other surrounding nations. But he didn’t. He didn’t try to secure his own blessing. Instead, he relied on God because He knew that God’s way would be better. And it was! We need to do the same.

We need to trust that God’s way is better for our lives—even when we are faced with “certain destruction”, and even when it doesn’t make sense. Like King Jehoshaphat, we need to get down on our knees, admit our weakness, and declare that we will trust in God. And when we do that, like Jehoshaphat, will be able to sit back and marvel at the wonder of God’s blessing being poured out before our very eyes!

-Talasi Guerra
(Director of Children and Family Ministries)

Categories: Bible , Grip