We all know of people who started out well but didn’t finish well. You don’t have to look far for these kinds of stories. There’s a story in the Old Testament about a king who started out so well. He was a really good king until one day, he wasn’t. His name was King Asa.
Who was King Asa?
King Asa was a good king. He followed God and did what was right, and God blessed him in his reign. Everything was going really well for him, until something changed in his life. During the thirty-sixth year of his reign, King Baasha invades. Out of fear, King Asa sends money from the Temple to another king and asks for an alliance. King Ben-hadad agrees to the alliance and helps drive King Baasha out of King Asa’s land. Success right? They drove out the invading king.
Not so fast. After they drive out the invading king, Hanani (a seer), comes to see King Asa and delivers this message:
“Because 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.
II Chronicles 16:7
What was Hanani’s message?
Hanani tells King Asa that he’s been a fool for trusting in a human instead of in God and that from now on, he will be at war. King Asa gets so irate, he throws Hanani into prison. What’s interesting to note is that the Bible says that from that point on, King Asa began to oppress some of his people.
King Asa goes on to develop a serious foot disease but still doesn’t choose to turn back to God. Just five years after these events, King Asa dies, leaving behind a tragic legacy.
King Asa started out so great, but he didn’t finish well. It doesn’t matter how we start something, it’s how we finish. We can have the best start, but it’s the finish that matters the most.
What was King Asa’s Downfall?
He stopped trusting God; it’s as simple as that. He knew better. He knew to trust God and to obey him; yet, somehow, he turned away from God and started trusting himself. That was his downfall.
So many people start out strong in their faith, but then life happens. Our feet get knocked out from under us, and life batters us. We get so bruised and battered that we lose the will to stick with it. Soon, we fall away from church, we stop meeting with our small group, and we stop reading our Bibles and even praying. Before too long, we find ourselves in a dark place, far away from God.
How do we keep from being like King Asa?
We have to continue to trust God each and every day and not lean on our own understanding of life and situations. We have to remember these familiar words from Proverbs and continue to put our trust in God and not depend on our own selves for direction in life.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
Proverbs 3:5,6
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
Who do we trust?
The only way to get through this life is to trust God every step of the way and not our own selves. Jeremiah tells us that our hearts are deceitful and wicked, and we can’t trust them. We have to learn to trust God and not our own emotions, thoughts, and feelings; those can lead us away in a big way. As soon as we stop trusting God, we begin on the path to our demise.
Choose to listen to God, to listen for his voice in the midst of all of life’s craziness. Set aside time every morning to spend time with him through a morning time routine. Stay faithful to church, get involved in a small group. Most of all, continue to trust God one day at a time. If we do, we can finish strong and leave a legacy of godliness for our kids.
More Encouragement
For more encouragement on this topic, check out my post, Encouragement for the Weary Soul. Want to develop your trust in God by growing in your walk with him? Check out our devotionals and journals, available from Manney Resources.
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