2 Chronicles 16:7-9 NIV84 and 2 Chronicles 16:12 NIV84

In the previous chapter, Asa was fervent is seeking the Lord, purging the nation of anything that was counter. He led the nation in seeking the Lord, and the Lord gave them rest on every side. So what happened that Asa didn’t seek the Lord in the face of attack? Why did he proceed without the Lord to make a treaty with another king? Even when he was afflicted with sickness, he didn’t seek the Lord, just physicians.

The Lord had provided rest, along with peace and prosperity. Could it be that when things were going well, Asa began to take some of the credit, and slowly drift away from the Lord?

When is my relationship with the Lord strongest? It’s ironic that when the Lord blesses and life is good, it’s so easy to take God for granted, to think we can live this life on our own. We can even stray into things we thought we would never do - Solomon’s life is a great example of this! How did the wisest man who ever lived get do foolish? How did Asa, whose passion for God changed the country, get so complacent about God? Indeed, at the end he stubbornly refused to seek God.

Asa had gained the whole world, but was now losing his soul.

The scripture doesn’t tell us the details, but I would expect it started with a little compromise, a small doubt, a tiny indiscretion, a neglect of a daily time seeking God perhaps. He got away with it, no one called him on it. There were more of these over time, without immediate consequence and over a period of time that passion for the Lord had grown cold, and he went from being a friend of God to completely estranged.

Lord, in this world where you have blessed us with so very much, help me to stay close to you, in moment by moment communion and dependence on you. On my own, I can’t do this... I don't even know how to do this... I don't want to finish like Asa.