In II Chronicles 14, we read about Asa, King of Judah, who was fifth in the line of David. We read in verses 2-6: “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.  Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.”

But, after some years of peace in the land, a great army of a million Ethiopian troops and 300 chariots approached the nation of Judah from the south.  Somewhere near Maresha, a fenced city in the lowlands of Judah, King Asa of Judah moved his much smaller force into position to intercept the invading host. 

My dear Christian friend, have you ever been faced with the growing threat of  desperate circumstances?  Perhaps you have never been on a battle field facing a mighty host like this; maybe you have never been in a land battle at all, but desperate challenges can take many forms in this world.  Perhaps business reverses or tough economic times are threatening your livelihood at this very moment; perhaps floods or other calamities are threatening your home; perhaps growing infirmity is robbing you of your independence, and there is just no sign of relief anywhere before you. Does your heart long for peace and rest?  So often, we hope and pray for smooth sailing through this world, only to find that the Lord has allowed dark and ominous clouds to form on our horizon.  Perhaps, like Asa, we have been following the Lord; and, perhaps we wonder why such storms are allowed to come into the lives of the faithful.

In this emergency, Asa was badly outnumbered, and by all human reasoning, his prospects in the desperate struggle before him were dismal at best.  This godly king, however, realized that he could not look to his own strength for deliverance, and this is one of the primary lessons for every child of God in this life.  We must learn to depend fully and in all matters upon the One for Whom nothing is impossible.  Asa committed the entire matter to the Lord  in a short prayer, but one full of faith:  “And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, Thou art our God; let no man prevail against Thee,” (verse 11).

Asa committed the battle to the Lord, and the result was a resounding victory for Judah, with all glory to God, rather than to men. We read in verse 12 and 13, ”So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled”.

It is so amazing to witness how the God of the universe can use even trials and afflictions in the lives of His children in ways that the world simply cannot understand!  Always remember, your loving God and Father is above you, beneath you, and is all around you in His care; He is your refuge, and provider of every need : ”There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky.  The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”

Blessings to all,

Steven J. Faulkner