Royals Part II: Divided KingdomEsimerkki

# We Rely on You We go back to Judah this week, the next in line after Abijah was Asa who was in power when Ahab came to the throne in Israel. While we see a huge contrast between Asa and the kings of Israel, we also see that he still struggles to allow God to be the true ruler of Israel. He appears to use God as his last resort. Similar to the kings before him, when he faced insurmountable odds from the Ethiopian invasion, Asa turned to God. He prayed a beautiful prayer and God answered his prayers. Yet when facing a mere frustration through Baasha’s activity on the border, instead of turning to God he turns to the King of Aram. How bad do things have to get before you turn to prayer? So often we use God as a back-up plan, but that is not the fullness of everything He desires for us. God wants to know us personally, to be in relationship with us, to be close to us, not to be the person we only turn to when we’re desperate. Asa is commended for being a good king because he acknowledged the Lord as God and served him; yet he was still deeply flawed. But when Jesus came, he only did what he saw his Father doing. Everything he did was the fruit of his reliance on his Father in Heaven. We need his Spirit working within us to help us do the same. Thought Point Does your life flow out of your relationship with God or does your relationship with God get crammed into your busy life? Prayer Point Spend time with God, in His presence, invite the Spirit to show you what He is doing today.