Trusting God

Introduction

A. Who do you trust? Maybe it is better to ask who do you not trust? Maria and I are car shopping. She has saved her money and is ready to make a major purchase. I try hard to trust the one who is selling, but find it difficult to be wholehearted in that trust. After several years of inquiry, we are finding that corporate America is difficult to trust. And let’s not even get started on politics. As Will Rogers said, “how can you tell when a politician is lying? When his lips are moving.” No too much dishonesty in politics for it to merit our full trust. We are given a constant stream of news about people who have acted in untrustworthy ways. And the general attitude has become—don’t trust anyone. Everyone is out to get what they can. Keep your guard up. ILL. “Trust: Little Boy.”

B. So who do we trust? To some extent we trust friends. But there is a limit. Too many times we think, that we don’t want to bother a friend with some request for help. Spouses—again to some extent. Too often we are afraid to say what we want to say or need to say for fear of hurting the other person or hurting the relationship so we hold back. We don’t fully trust. Medical profession. We probably trust our doctors for the most part. But again we limit our trust to their level of expertise. For most of us, our doctors are not the ones we will call to help us move furniture. Preachers? If they are approachable—maybe and if they aren’t then we will suffer in silence.

C. So what are we left with? Ourselves, I suppose. We trust ourselves. We believe that we are capable and competent to handle that need to be done. We surround ourselves with objects which solidifies our belief that we can take care of things. Our trust is wrapped up in our self-sufficiency. While this is not all bad, we constantly face the challenge of trying to balance trusting ourselves and leaving God out of it. And finding that balance means that we must change the way we think about ourselves in relationship to the things of this world. While finding that balance is a challenge, it is a challenge worth fighting. As we look at Asa’s life today, we are going to notice his struggle in finding the balance and we will notice, too, the character of God which if we allow it can alter the way we think about ourselves and our relationship to the things of this world.

Asa’s Challenge

A. Asa is Rehoboam’s grandson. We are told in 14:1 that Judah enjoyed 10 years of peace when he became king. Asa begins a kingdom wide campaign to rid Judah of idols and places of worship which took away from the temple in Jerusalem. Asa fortifies cities in Judah. The text tells us in 14:6 that God is giving Asa rest. Asa’s view in 14:7 clearly demonstrates that he wants to honor God with his kingdom.

B. At the end of this 10 year peace, kings from the South came against Judah to conquer it. God was with Asa. In 14:11, we are told that Asa cries out to God. In comparison to the armies from the south, Judah’s army was overwhelmed. Asa didn’t trust in his army, he trusted in God to overcome. Chapter 15 continues the desire of Asa to keep his trust in God. God prospers Asa beyond his wildest dreams. God promises to reward Asa’s work in 15:7. For the next 25 years, Asa and God’s people enjoyed a time of peace. Asa was determined to honor God and to keep his commands. And God carried through with his promise to prosper Asa’s work.

C. But something happens in chapter 16. Judah comes under attack from Israel. Baasha, king of Israel, goes to war against Asa and Judah. But Asa does something he didn’t do 25 years before. Instead of seeking God’s help, Asa seeks the help of the king of Syria. 16:2 tells us that Asa took the gold and silver out of the temple to pay for Syria to attack Israel. His plan worked. Israel withdrew from their attempt to overthrow Judah. But in the process, Asa had demonstrated that he had changed. He now trusted in kingdoms around him rather than God. As a consequence the rest of Asa’s reign was spent at war. In 16:12, Asa is so set against God that when he has a disease he doesn’t turn to God instead he turns only to physicians for healing.

Lessons

A. We are not told why Asa’s attitude changed. Did he after 25 years of peace and prosperity trust only himself? Did he believe that the things around him secured his position? Did he believe that nothing could harm him? Did he think that God was no longer necessary? We don’t know. What we can know is that God had made it so clear in the first ten years of his rule that he was going to be rewarded for being faithful. What was so clear was that God was going to honor Asa for following God’s will. How could something so clear be ignored? Let suggest that all of us can easily fall into the trap that Asa fell into.

1. When you get up in the morning, you turn on a faucet and within seconds hot water is available for a shower or bath.

2. When you go into your kitchen there is food.

3. You get dressed from a closet that has more than one change of clothes.

4. You get into a car that will take you where you want to go.

5. You sit at a desk with a computer that has the world at your fingertips.

6. Your wallet has signs that businesses trust you to buy products and pay for those things over time.

7. You have thermostats that can be adjusted to make warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

8. What is there that you lack? Do you need God? Maybe our prayers and actions need to start reflecting our dependency upon God. Maybe our morning prayers should be something like: “Lord, I’ve had a shower, food, and dressed myself today. All of those things were so easy to get. But I realize that ease in getting them is a blessing from you and that you are the one who provides. I renounce my ability to gain these things and honor you for providing.” Maybe that would make a difference in how we perceive these things.

B. Second, notice 16:9. Through the words of the prophet we are allowed to see something about the nature and character of God. “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” God wants to reveal his strength to those who trust him. What we need to understand is that this is a description of God’s work and desire. We could say it this way: “the eyes of the scouts from the SEC conference range throughout the U.S. looking for the best athletes.” This is the job of the scout—to find the best athletes to bring them to a school to play sports. God’s job is to go throughout the earth looking for those whose hearts are set on him. And when he finds them he strengthens them; he rewards them. God rewarded Asa with peace and prosperity. But the favor of God was cashed in for what Asa could see rather than trusting in that which is unseen.

1. I appreciate the way Tank prays about the sick. He reminds us that God can do so much more than doctors who are trained to deal with illness. Trust your physician but realize that God does more.

2. What have you given for your trust in God? Asa depended on a manmade kingdom instead of the one who makes kings to rise and fall.

3. The nature of God is to seek out those who are committed to him and he honors those. So distorted was Asa’s view about God that he failed to even call on God in sickness. How foolish!!

4. How foolish are we when we look to find our peace and reward in the things we can see rather than trusting in the one who is the giver of those gifts. This is what God does. He seeks to find those who are committed to him and to lift them up. Those who trust in their own strength lose the opportunity to have God lift you up.

5. Just as with Asa, God has already proven that he is trustworthy. We can trust the one who gives peace and prosperity. How do I know? ILL. Commitment: Doctor.” The doctor became a patient in order to get the patients to trust the doctor. Invitation.

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