God is Your Help

Greetings in the Lord!

Well, true to form, the word at the beginning of the month of pushing through fatigue and "drought" and of overcoming unprovoked attacks from spiritual Amalekites has been happening.  Now is the time of gathering together as believers and petitioning God to move on our behalves.  Do not underestimate the power of prayer, my friends!  God loves a humble heart, unity among His people, and most of all in times of persecution, praying for your enemies.  Pray that the power of the devil be broken off those held captive by his lies of hate, violence, and false ideas.  God is birthing something wonderful in the nations these days; let's not get off track by the attacks of spiritual Amalekites.  Continue to push on through this season, my beloveds.  Set your face like flint and pursue the higher path laid out for us by God: love, mercy, speaking the truth, long-suffering, and being a peace-maker.  There are untold of blessings for those who remain in God's presence.  Enemies of God will scoff at our faith, our gentle submission to follow His narrow path, but they will all perish and be scattered in the wind.  God will not help them in the day of their disaster--and be sure, God has a day for all things, even a day of judgment for the wicked. 

As a reminder to rely on God during trials and not on unholy allies, today's word is from 2 Chronicles 16.  It is the story about Asa, king of Judah.  There was a time when the Northern kingdom of Israel attacked some cities in Judah, and Asa did not petition the Lord.  Instead, he relied on conventional wisdom and approached the king of Aram with a deal: take this money and break your treaty with the Northern Kingdom; join us against them--then they will retreat.  The king of Aram agreed with the alliance against the Northern Kingdom, and subsequently, the Northern Kingdom had to retreat from the cities they had overtaken in Judah. 

On the surface of things, this looked like a good move.  So when the prophet confronted Asa and rebuked him for this unholy foreign alliance, Asa got angry.  He was too arrogant to appeal to God in the first place, and in his "success," he coupled his pride with disdain for God's words.  To top it all off, he had the prophet imprisoned and persecuted some of his own people.

Well, Asa's arrogance was punished with a severe disease afflicting his feet.  His continued rebelliousness was revealed, too--Asa would not seek help from the Lord, but only from doctors.  He did not acknowledge or take advantage of the opportunities to seek the Lord during his trials, so he did not witness the miraculous saving-power of God in his life.  Believers, we have to begin to see our trials in a new light.  Please give God the opportunity to do amazing things in your sight--He loves you so much and wants to bless you.  Dare to believe that Jesus is still able to do the impossible, that He can change people's hearts, heal people's bodies, free captives and restore their minds to perfect peace and truth in Him.  Though we suffer trials and can be oppressed for a time, we are not victims; we are overcomers in Christ Jesus!  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Amen!

~Be blessed and be a blessing.

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