“But you all must be strong and not lose heart, for there is a reward for your deeds” (2 Chr. 15:7).
The history of Israel includes some riveting similarities to our world today. One brief vignette that caught my attention recently is from 2 Chronicles 14-15. After the glorious, golden years of King Solomon, his son, Rehoboam, succeeded him. While Solomon was wise, Rehoboam was arrogant, foolish and in short order had led the southern kingdom away from faith in God. A warning through God’s Word came to him plainly, “So the Lord says: ‘You have abandoned Me, so I have abandoned you into the hand of Shishak'” (2 Chr. 12:5). And God did. While He spared Rehoboam’s life, He allowed Jerusalem to be ransacked, and all the amassed wealth of Solomon to be looted by the Egyptians.
When Rehoboam’s grandson, Asa, rose to power, he “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Chr. 14:2). When an army of a million men came against him from the south, he cried out to God, declaring, “Lord, it is nothing with You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power. Help us, O Lord our God; for we trust in You, and in Your name we come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God. Let no man prevail against You” (2 Chr. 14:11). God honored his trust by giving him victory.
God then sent a message to Asa instructing him on how to secure lasting peace and victory over his enemies. And it’s this message that I would like to deliver to the leaders of the free world, to President Netanyahu and the leaders of modern-day Israel; to Barack Obama and the leaders of the United States of America; to François Hollande, and the leaders of France; to David Cameron and the leaders of Great Britain; to Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Hillary Clinton and any other candidate running for president of the United States.
This is the message: “The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you all seek Him, He will be found with you. But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. And at that time there was no peace to the one traveling in or out because there was a great panic on all those who dwelt in the land. They were broken to pieces, nation against nation and city against city, because God confused them with every type of distress. But you all must be strong and not lose heart, for there is a reward for your deeds” (2 Chr. 15:2-7).
When this message was originally delivered, King Asa took courage and led his nation in genuine repentance of sin. Then the entire nation “rejoiced over this oath because they swore with their whole heart and they sought Him with all their desire; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around” (2 Chr. 15:15).
Seek the Lord now while He may be found. He will give you wisdom, peace, and deliverance from your enemies.
Anne Graham Lotz, founder of AnGeL ministries, has proclaimed God’s Word worldwide for more than 30 years. Her newest book, Wounded by God’s People, is available at AnneGrahamLotz.com
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