I remember the times when I had my grandkids over, the most fun game we would play was hide and seek.
I would hide and my granddaughter would count….1…2…3…4…5… ready or not here I come.
she would search and search until she finally found me. Her face would light up with joy and well as mine when she found me.
The same holds true when we seek God with all our hearts.
2 Chronicles 14:8
This morning, my study was on King Asa,
The great- great grandson of the famous King David from David and Goliath
He followed in the footsteps of David and did right in the eyes of the Lord
King Asa had an army of 300,000 from the tribe of Judah and an army 280,000 from the tribe of Benjamin.
The Ethiopians came out against him with their army of a million men and 300 chariots.
King Asa knew he had a weak army against the Ethiopians.
He went out and face his problem, he did not run.
He turned his face upward and called upon the Lord for help.
In response to Asa’s prayer, the Lord gave Asa a great victory.
2 Chronicles 14:11
“Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, ‘LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name, we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.'”
Now fast forward 26 years later
2 chronicles 16:1-9
King Asa was in the middle of another struggle
Baasha, the king of Israel, went up against Judah by strengthened and secured the city of Ramah to prevent anyone from going in or out to King Asa of Judah, effectively controlling travel and communication between Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel.
In response, King Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple sent them to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram. Asa asked Ben-Hadad to break his treaty with Baasha and make a new alliance with him, hoping that Ben-Hadad would attack Israel and force Baasha to withdraw.
Because he relied on the king of Aram instead of on the Lord, wars would never cease during his reign. Asa would face ongoing conflicts and unrest as a consequence of his actions.
2 Chronicles 16:9
for the eyes of the lord move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this, indeed, from now on you will surely have wars,”
In my own life, valuable lessons can be learned from King Asa and how he handled his struggle.
During my family conflict, not one of us seek the Lord for guidance, instead, we have all acted foolishly.
We tried to resolve our issues in unhealthy ways that did not follow God
and as a result of the consequence of our actions and sin, a divided family
“We have eagle eyes for others’ faults and mole eyes for our own”
when you are up against struggles, you have two choices
1. try to figure out a way to solve your problem on your own
believe that we can do things without God
2. try to figure out a way to grow closer to God
When you seek to grow closer to God, here’s what occurs:
God will reveal solutions to your problems that were previously unseen.
Just as Moses parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, who could have foreseen that?
God delights in revealing new doors of hope and opportunity to those who seek Him.
He opens doors we never knew existed, leading us to paths of renewed strength and purpose
Why did He present you with the problem initially?
It’s because He is waiting for you to seek him
Just like in a game of hide and seek, where the joy is finding the hidden friend,
When your passion becomes to seek and know Him, He will make Himself known
Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Proverbs 8:17:”I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”
When we seek God with all our hearts, we can rest assured that He will be found.
When we are dealing with life struggles, the Lord is with you when you are with Him.
When you are not walking according to His Word, He withdraws His presence from you
2 Chronicles 15:2
“The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”
God is always near, ready to reveal Himself and guide us.
Just like the children who burst into smiles and laughter when they find their hiding friend, our hearts will overflow with joy and peace when we find God in our seeking.
So, let us seek Him, knowing that He promises to be found by those who diligently search for Him.
Lamentations 3:25
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.”
Join me on my journey paved by God’s guidance – I invite you to join me and find inspiration in the remarkable ways God moves in our lives (echosofmyfootsteps.com)
