Good morning,
King Asa of Judah started out as a very good king. He did his best to follow the Lord and to encourage people to know and love the Lord. When faced by an overwhelming army about to attack their kingdom he prayed in part, “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde.(2Chronicles 14:11) The Lord gave them an powerful victory and the king was held in high respect. However, time took his warm love for God and it was replaced by business as usual. When another army was threatening them years later he took what we would call a pragmatic approach and tried to solve the problem in a culturally acceptable way. No prayer this time, just manipulation. A faithful prophet showed up and he rebuked him for his foolish choice. He said in part, What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”(Ch.16:9) By definition a pragmatist is someone who is guided more by practical solutions than by a fixed set of rules.
Recently I received a message that was discussing the significance of one of our candidates who they felt was a pragmatic leader who would get us out of our situation. This same situation is very often a part of our church and christian problem solving when we go to the world of business or finance to determine how to do church. What often happens is that a country or a group or a ministry finds that things have become difficult over a period of time and they forget or abandon the reasons for going on in the face of serious challenges. What we also forget is the reason that Satan, Lucifer, was thrown out of heaven was that he decided that God’s rules needed his direction and that he was the one to take control.(Isa.14:12) Somehow this powerful being decided that what God was doing wasn’t fair and that he could do it better. It just made sense to do things with a better set of rules. What the prophet also said was, The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. Asa did it right early on but then his heart turned from God and so he was left to the world’s resources to solve his problems. A good beginning in a ministry or job or a walk with God will only lead to a good ending if our hearts grow closer and closer to the God who is always with anyone anywhere on earth. In fact the Lord is searching constantly for someone to use as a living example of what a Great God can do in the face of an overwhelming challenge. Our God’s strength can overwhelm any enemy that he brings into our lives. What he longs for are followers who will follow no matter what he allows. Dear Lord, please help us to be people who will really trust our God from the beginning to the end.
2 Chronicles 16:9 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.”
Roy Wisner
