Who do we depend on when life gets hard? Who do we trust when we don’t know what to do?
Doctors? Lawyers? Counselors? Friends?
I’m thankful for all of them. God often cares for us through people who know things we don’t know and can do things we can’t do.
But there’s a difference between receiving help from people and depending on them instead of the LORD.
King Asa learned that lesson the hard way.
Early in his reign, Asa faced an army of a million men. He knew he couldn’t win. So he prayed:
“LORD, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, LORD our God, for we depend on You” (2 Chronicles 14:11).
We depend on You.
And God delivered them (2 Chronicles 14:12–15).
Asa didn’t just experience God’s faithfulness and move on. He led Judah to seek the LORD. Together they “entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and all their soul” (2 Chronicles 15:12).
But years passed.
Another enemy came.
This time Asa didn’t pray. Instead, he took silver and gold from the LORD’s temple and used it to buy the help of the king of Aram (2 Chronicles 16:2–3). His plan actually worked.
At least it looked like it did.
The enemy withdrew. The immediate problem was solved.
But God sent Hanani the seer to tell Asa what he had missed: “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the LORD your God…” (vs. 7).
Then Hanani gave Asa this reminder:
“For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to Him” (vs. 9).
God was ready to show Himself strong. Asa simply needed to depend on Him. Asa should have remembered.
Instead, Asa began relying on what he could see, what he could arrange, and who he could call.
Then, near the end of his life, Asa developed a serious disease in his feet. Scripture records this sad detail: “Yet even in his disease he didn’t seek the LORD but only the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12).
The physicians weren’t the problem.
“Only” was the problem.
Somewhere along the way, Asa stopped seeking the LORD.
I can do that too.
Sometimes it’s easier to depend on God when I have no other options. When I know I can’t fix it, I pray.
But what about when I need doctor? Or a lawyer? Or a counselor? Or a friend who can help?
Do I seek them first and God later? Do I pray after everything else has failed? Or do I receive their help while continuing to depend on the LORD?
Yesterday’s faithfulness cannot replace today’s dependence on the LORD. In fact, every experience of God’s faithfulness should give us another reason to trust Him today.
So, go to the doctor. Call the lawyer. Talk with the counselor. Lean on a faithful friend. But through it all, seek the LORD.
“Help us, LORD our God, for we depend on You” (2 Chronicles 14:11).
I want that to be more than a prayer I pray when I’m desperate. I want it to describe how I live.
Depending.
Every day.
Follow me… as I follow JESUS CHRIST.