Voyce – Truth Live

One of the hugest challenges I have struggled with as a Christian is simply trusting through the storm. I suspect I’m not alone. I’d love to share some encouragement that the Lord has been giving me on the matter. His gentle instruction in this season of my life is “Stay with Me”.

Second Chronicles 16 tells us the story of how Asa, one of Judah’s better kings, turned to Ben-haddad the king of Aram (Syria) for help when the King of Israel invaded his territory. He actually offered Ben-haddad silver and gold from God’s temple and the palace to secure his help. Well, Ben-haddad sent in his commanders and soon Israel’s king abandoned his plans against Judah. All’s well that ends well? Not quite.

Hanani the prophet came to Asa with this message from the Lord:

“⁷Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the LORD your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. ⁸ Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the LORD, and he handed them over to you. ⁹ The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.” 2 Chron 16: 7b – 9, NLT (emphasis mine)

The words “at that time” in verse 8 strike me. Asa had faced trouble before. Chapter 14 of the same book tells us that the Ethiopians had come out against him in their numbers. At that time, he had cried out to God and leaned on Him. God had routed the Ethiopians and given Judah a great victory with much spoil from the battle. What was different now? Why had he turned to Ben-haddad in this situation?

We might not know why Asa chose to rely on Ben-haddad for help with Israel but I believe we can look back on our own lives and gain insight. Haven’t there been times you prayed for victory and it happened before your eyes? Have there been other times when in panic or discouragement you have tried to work it out on your own or with human help? Our Father wants our consistent trust. He may use different means at different times but He wants to be the Source of our deliverance and help all the time.

To be frank, suffering and trouble can make us feel to withdraw from God and not reach out to Him for help when we are in trouble. Pain and hardship can bring about an emotional state where we find ourselves more susceptible to negative ideas. It is at those points that satan begins to message us intensely – worry, doubt, insecurity and anger rise in our hearts against the backdrop of pain. It is often difficult to believe God when we are hurting, hard to trust Him when we are frightened and easy to doubt His love when we are treated unjustly. We know that He is omnipotent, so it is often challenging for our spirits to grasp why He lets us go through pain.

At those blinding points of emotional fog, we may start to feel that He has left us alone to face the music. Right there, it is easier to trust our feelings and opinions and reach for a human hand to pull us out. Enter Ben-haddad. Now, we will not be able to completely avoid temptations of this nature as we walk on the Christian journey. We may be strong and full of faith on Tuesday but weak and frightened on Friday. Still, despite life’s ups and downs, God wants us to stay with Him. It is His will that we rise above terror, provocation, frustration and pain and trust Him. He is looking for people to be strong for and as the prophet Hanani said this blessing is for those who are fully committed to Him at heart.

• Stay with Me in pain.
• Stay with Me in trouble.
• Stay with Me when you are threatened.
• Stay with Me when you can’t cope and you feel like a failure.

I truly love the KJV rendering of verse 9a in the passage we have been considering.

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” 2 Chron 16:9 a (KJV)

It will be genuine victory in our lives when we learn to trust, look to, obey and love God through the different seasons and experiences of our lives. The God who rescued from the Ethiopians also rescues from the king of Israel. The God who helped you when you were in financial need will also help you with the struggles of parenting, ill-health, embarrassment – whatever it is. He is always looking for someone to be strong for and He loves being strong for those who are loyal to Him regardless of their circumstances. Let’s trust His grace in the storm, slip our little hands in His and stick it out with Him.