24/02/2016 - DIVINE PRESENCE UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS

• 
• 
• 
• 

And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.  2 Chronicles 15:2

After going through great trial, king Asa learned that he should walk with God for him to have Him by his side. The same thing happens to us, for, if we walk with the Lord, He will remain with us, protecting us and giving us the victory. If Asa had not remembered the Lord and cried out to Him with all his heart, through a very wise prayer along with his people, he certainly would have been defeated, and the enemy´s oppression would have destroyed Judah. 

The life of this king had highs and lows, but this is not good to any person. At first, he sought to walk in the paths of David, his ancestor. However, later, when things were going well, he let himself be taken away by human aspect and decided to create a protection so the enemy would find the people of God. Now, the land had been quiet for 10 years, and this did not happen by chance. Why did Asa decide to act by his flesh? 

Since the beginning of his kingdom, he feared God; however, when he allowed fear to come in his heart, he began to prepare himself for war. Instead of remembering that it was the Lord who protected them, he decided to do something so that the enemy wouldn’t strike them. Asa didn’t take into consideration the harm he was creating to his people. Many times, we act exactly the same. He should have gone back to the Lord and cried out for His mercy. Isn’t that what we should do? 

God didn’t give any of His children the spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). That is why, king Asa should not have accepted that feeling of fear that was evil to come into his heart. Likewise, we must not accept any weak feeling, we must not be frightened with the enemy, nor accept a real or imaginary threat. We have the anointing from on High, and it will never abandon us. It gives us the victory! 

Hanani was not intimidated when he spoke to the king of his people, but he told him what he was ordered. This teaches us to give out the message to the person God has sent us to. If we don’t do so, we will be accountable for the error of that person. The servants can never do what they feel like doing, but they have to do what they were ordered to do. If there is a price for us to pay for serving the Lord, than we must pay for it. 

The message of the prophet serves for all those who serve the Lord, for the presence of God in your life depends on your attitude. If we do the work of God carelessly, we will go nowhere. The right thing to do is to fulfill what the Word declares. Thus, you will not stumble. 

Those who abandon God are distant from Him. Therefore, even if you are under tribulations, don’t open your mouth to speak that which you shouldn’t, and if you do not understand what is going on, remain firm and steadfast in the faith. 

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares