One Minute with God

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Those words, spoken to Asa, the king of Judah, provide all the encouragement we need to go, and go boldly, with the Lord.

Asa was the first of Judah’s kings who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He commanded all of Judah to seek the LORD God, and to obey His law. So God blessed Judah with peace. The land was quiet for 10 years. But then an Ethiopian army of a million men came out to fight against Judah, whose army was only about half that size.

The Bible says Asa prepared his men for battle, and then he cried out to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power…in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” (2 Chronicles 14:11).

So the Lord struck the Ethiopians and they fled. Asa and all of Judah honored the Lord God, and God blessed them with peace, again.

Asa didn’t face another military conflict until the 36^th year of his reign. But this time, instead of trusting God, Asa made a treaty with a pagan king. So Hanani the prophet confronted him about it: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians…not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (16:7-9).

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

A couple things in that verse jump out at me. First is that the Lord is looking to show Himself strong on our behalf. He is always looking for the opportunity to display His strength. He is eager to do it. That’s His priority.

So we have to ask ourselves, why? Why is God intent on showing Himself strong on behalf of those who are loyal to Him?

I can think of 6 reasons:

1. We will praise and glorify Him when He does. God blesses people all the time who don’t acknowledge Him, who haven’t asked for His help, and who won’t thank Him when He does help them. He does that all the time. He gives people air to breathe, friends and family who love them, food and shelter. He heals sicknesses, protects from danger, and gives people many joys and pleasures in this life. Even an atheist is blessed by God every day. (Theologians call that common grace.)

So, it stands to reason that God would be extremely happy, and even delighted to help those who depend on Him, those who will actually thank and praise Him for His provision.

2. God wants to show Himself strong on our behalf because He is bound by His Word, and by His promises. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God is bound by His Word.

3. Why does God want to show Himself strong? Because He delights in our dependence on Him, and He wants us to keep on depending on Him. Psalm 147:11 says God delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.

4. God shows Himself strong on our behalf because His great name and reputation are at stake. Psalm 106:7-8 says, “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, But rebelled by the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known.”

And that’s exactly what King Asa counted on. Before going to battle with the Ethiopians he cried out to God, “In Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God.” So, God is bound to help us because His name and reputation are at stake.

5. God shows Himself strong on our behalf because He loves us. Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

6. God shows Himself strong on our behalf because Jesus died for us. Romans 8:32 says: “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Him graciously give us all things?”

If God already did the hardest thing, offering up His only Son, it just makes sense that He would now want to do the easy thing, showing Himself strong on our behalf. Remember what Asa said before doing battle with the Ethiopians? “Lord, it is nothing for you to help.” Helping us doesn’t burn up any of God’s energy or dwindle any of His resources.

The next thing that jumps out at me in 2 Chronicles 16:9 is the word loyal. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

Instead of the word loyal, other translations use the words: fully committed, perfect, blameless and faithful. If we just read that one verse, it would seem as though God is looking to reward our faithfulness to Him. It would seem as though the focus is on God showing Himself strong to the one whose life demonstrates a commitment to faithful obedience, allegiance, and loyalty to Him. And God does do that. He does reward our faithfulness. But the faithfulness spoken of in this story is the perfection of helplessly depending on God and God alone.

Asa was rebuked for where he placed his dependence. Hanani rebuked him for trusting in the help of a pagan king, instead of his God. The loyalty spoken of in 2 Chronicles 16:9 is a loyalty that turns to God for help, and Him alone. It’s a heart considered blameless because it has not trusted in another for even the tiniest bit of help. It’s a loyalty in our dependence that God is looking for.

The cool thing is, we don’t have to wait for an enemy attack, or a dire situation, to receive God’s strength on our behalf. Whether we realize it or not, every aspect of our lives is totally dependent on Him. We are able to get up in the morning, and eat and breathe and pray because He enables us to.

We are able to serve Him because He has appointed us to a specific task, and He enables us to accomplish His purposes.

People are saved and brought into His kingdom because He brings them. He saves them. With men, this is impossible, but not with God!

May we trust Him to keep His Word and show Himself strong on our behalf— in our everyday lives, in our areas of ministry, and in saving sinners and glorifying His name.

As the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, may we be the ones He sees who are depending on Him, and Him alone.

One of my favorite verses is 2 Chronicles 16:9.
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

As I began my study on Asa, king of Judah, the person to whom those words were spoken, I was reminded of a book I read a couple years ago. Father and son, doctors Kenneth and Tyler Cooper, wrote the book. Its title is Start STRONG, Finish STRONG.

As I thought about that book, and the story leading up to that verse, I realized the importance of starting and finishing our lives strong—SPIRITUALLY STRONG.

King Asa was the first of Judah’s kings who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord (2 Chronicles 14:2, 1 Kings 15:11). He began his 41-year reign STRONG. But, unfortunately, he didn’t finish as strong as he began.

When he became king, He removed the prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols made by his forefathers. He even removed his grandmother from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol (1 Kings 15:12-13). He brought all of the holy things back into the house of the Lord. And He commanded all of Judah to seek the LORD God, and to obey His law (2 Chronicles 14:4).

So God blessed Judah with peace. The land was quiet for 10 years. But then an Ethiopian army of a million men and 300 chariots came out to do battle with Judah, whose army was only about half that size.

Asa didn’t seem concerned at all. The Bible says Asa prepared his men for battle, and then he cried out to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” (2 Chronicles 14:11).

So the Lord struck the Ethiopians and they fled. The spoils of Judah’s victory were immense! The Bible says they carried off livestock, sheep, and camels in abundance. Later they sacrificed some of those animals to the Lord: 700 bulls and 7000 sheep (15:11)!

Asa and all of Judah honored the Lord God, and God blessed them with peace “all around” (2 Chronicles 15:15). There were no more wars until the 36^th year of Asa’s reign (15:19). But then something happened. In the last 6 years of Asa’s life, he had one lapse in good judgment, after another.

First, when faced with another military conflict, he made a treaty with a pagan king, rather than trusting God. Then, when Hanani the prophet confronted him about it, he became angry and put him in prison.

“And at that time Hanani the (prophet) came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: ‘Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians…not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.’ Then Asa was angry with the (prophet), and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time” (16:7-10).

And then, just a few years before Asa died, his feet became diseased. Some think it may have been a severe case of gangrene. “Yet in his disease,” the Bible says, “he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians” (16:12).

So, how does all of this apply to us?

1. We can pray for those who have been faithfully serving the Lord for many years. We can ask God to bless, encourage and strengthen them. Especially knowing that we are never far from sin. We can praise God for their example of starting and continuing strong. And we can ask God to enable them to finish strong.

2. We can pray for more strong starters to help carry the load.

3. We can continue strong in our prayers for the lost—for our families, friends and acquaintances.  Because we know our God is a saving God, and He has called us to pray (1 Timothy 2:1-7).

4. We can pray for each other, that we might remain fully committed to God; that we would rely on Him alone to strengthen us for the area of ministry in which He places us. That we might start and finish strong.

5. We can praise the Lord that even though we often fail, He remains faithful. Even though Asa sinned by not trusting God, the people honored him at his death. And God honored him for generations to come. In both biblical accounts of his reign as Judah’s king, it says, “Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life” (2 Chronicles 15:17, 1 Kings 15:14).

“But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak,
for your work shall be rewarded!” 2 Chronicles 15:7