Today’s Tasting: I Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 13–16
1 Kings 15 is a short synopsis of four rulers in Judah and Israel, beginning with Abijah, who was king of Judah, and whose “heart was not fully devoted to the Lord,” (verse 1), but for the sake of his forefather, King David, God gave him a son, Asa, to inherit the throne. Asa succeeded Abijah as king of Judah, and He did what was right in the sight of the Lord.
Nadab became king of Israel while Asa reigned in Judah. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord and only reigned two years before he was struck down by Baasha. Baasha took over the throne and was a ruler who did evil in the sight of the Lord. There was war between Asa and Baasha throughout their reigns.
2 Chronicles 13–16 focuses on the reigns of Abijah and Asa as kings of Judah.
Asa declared his devotion to the Lord and the whole nation of Judah entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul. They rejoiced because they sought God wholeheartedly. When they sought God eagerly, they found him.
Later in his life, Asa sought a treaty with a neighboring king to help him fight against Baasha, king of Israel. God was displeased because Asa failed to rely on the Lord’s protection and wisdom. God then allowed the nation of Judah to be at war for the rest of Asa’s life.
Today’s Nourishment:
God never changes. He is still looking for those who will seek Him and serve Him wholeheartedly.
His word for us in this passage is to set our hearts to seek Him. Take courage and seek God eagerly. Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.
When the king and the people sought the Lord wholeheartedly, He responded and made even their enemies to be at peace with them. But when the king turned his heart to seek help from a source other than the Lord, he made a mess of his life, and the lives of those around him were affected by his behavior.
As humans we tend to keep part of ourselves back from God, for example by nursing a hurt or a wrong done to us. Or we may have said or done something that our conscious is now hounding us over and we start to replay the negative thoughts over and over again in our mind to see how we could have changed the situation.
STOP! Stop meditating on the negative and give it up to the Lord with ALL your mind, heart and soul. Let Him give you His peace. God will lead you in the way you should go when you cry out to Him and turn to Him with all your heart.
Prayer: Father God, we ask that you take all the issues we deal with and bring them under your submission. We ask for the courage and the strength to seek you wholeheartedly because so often this is difficult to do. We get distracted with our daily lives and we try to figure things out on our own. We often do wrong just trying to manage our days, and we make a mess of things. We often seek the opinion of others before we come to you for direction. We should always seek to pray first. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us to see you moment-by-moment, hour-by-hour, day-by-day. In the holy name of Jesus we pray these things. Amen
Now, give it all up to Him. Seek Him wholeheartedly and rely on His divine leadership and wisdom. Stay in the word of God, for His word is your roadmap. He will speak to you as you seek Him with all your heart. He is your peace. Finally, let us continue to pray for our nation and its leadership. As we seek God wholeheartedly, He will heal our land.
Blessings.
Tomorrow’s Tasting: I Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 17
June Smith
San Antonio, Texas
This was a great word for me today with some issues I’m facing in my life right now. I’m realizing more each day the importance of staying in the word which is my truth and keeping my mind stayed on Him (Is 26:3) which is my peace and bringing it all under His submission. Thank You Lord for You are the prince of Peace and that precious Peace surpasses all my understanding and guards my heart!!