Friday, June 15, 2012

Friday, June 15, 2012

How is your relationship with God today? Many people grow up believing
that Jesus is Lord and the Bible is the Word of God, but they've never
had a personal relationship with the Lord. Amaziah's reign as king of
Judah reflects one who believed in God, but didn't have that personal
relationship with Him. Believing in God gave him a good start to his
kingship, as "he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Kings
14:3), but since he didn't have a genuine relationship with the Lord,
he didn't seek after Him with all his heart and eventually this was
the cause for his demise. Remember, in Proverbs 3:5-6 it states,
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your
paths straight." In every way Amaziah, like many of us, failed at the
instruction of this verse.

Amaziah trusted in himself over God. This was his first mistake. His
heart told God, "I don't need you." This was clear when Amaziah hired
100,000 soldiers from Israel to help him fight Edom. He didn't expect
God to hand Edom over to the army of Judah alone. God (through a
prophet) then told Amaziah to send the 100,000 soldiers home for He
would hand Edom over to Judah alone. At this point, Amaziah made his
second mistake; he leaned on his own understanding over God's. He
asked the prophet, "But what about the hundred talents I paid for
these Israelite troops?" The prophet replied, "The Lord can give you
much more than that." Amaziah followed God's orders, but in his ways
overall, he still hadn't surrendered to God. This fact became apparent
when Amaziah, after defeating the Edomites, brought back their false
gods to worship. God then sent a prophet to Amaziah who asked, "Why do
you consult this people's gods, which could not save their own people
from your hand?"

Amaziah never had a genuine relationship with the Lord. It didn't
matter that he believed in the beginning of his reign or even
initially, walked upright. Ultimately, his heart wasn't with God so in
time, he turned away completely. Let's not make the same mistake as
Amaziah. Let's focus our hearts on the Lord and seek after Him. We
will not understand all the ways in which He will move, but we just
have to trust. Do you want God or the world? Only one is eternal and
saves. Let's show God we love Him by truly submitting to Him.
Remember, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). "Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:10).

God Bless,
Anthony