King Solomon’s great-grandson, Asa, opened his reign on a high note.
And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
2 Chronicles 14:2
God gave him rest (2 Chronicles 14:6-7), and he declared, “we rest on thee” (2 Chronicles 14:11).
When the prophet Azariah invited Asa to seek God, he accepted the invitation, destroying idols and gathering his people to make a covenant with God. His whole kingdom rejoiced, “for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about” (2 Chronicles 15:15).
Then, something changed. Faced with a blockade by the king of Israel, he sought help from Israel’s northern neighbor, Syria. When Hanani the seer chastised him for not relying on God, he imprisoned the seer (2 Chronicles 16:7-10). When he developed a severe disease in his feet, “he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). There’s nothing wrong with physicians, but why did he abandon God?
Maybe he became complacent. Mormon identified this attribute of human nature. When God prospers His people, Mormon wrote, “then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity” (Helaman 12:2). The process doesn’t always happen instantly. On one occasion Mormon noted that the Lord had blessed a group of people for so long that their hearts were turned to worldly things (Helaman 6:17).
It’s important to resist sliding from faith when times are good.
Today I will maintain my faith in God and avoid complacency. Like Asa, I will rest on God and I will follow prophetic invitations to seek Him. I will continue to seek His help during times of prosperity and will accept corrective feedback when it comes from His servants.
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