2nd Chronicles 13:18. “Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.” RELIED UPON THE LORD.
There is no avoiding the hard times, they are guaranteed to come. Some may come from failing health and age, others from Belial’s sons. We need to face a basic fact, unless we depend on God – There is no way to conquer them without intervention from the Lord.
Abijah, the king in the ancient past wasn’t really a very stellar man. God in mercy came to aid Judah with deliverance by His plan. All would have to admit victory came from the Highest Source – Or the battle would have led the nation down a very different course.
Often, we are confronted with things, and we don’t know where to turn. When we rely on the Lord alone, some good lessons are there to learn. Many of these we would have missed if everything was smooth – God allows us to go through difficulties so what is important we don’t lose.
There have been times when financially we had no place to look but up. Other times God has tested us with walking holding a very full cup. As stewards we had to learn what we have been given is to be held in trust. The God who gave can take away when He thinks it will benefit us.
When sickness and/or pain comes to test our will to live by faith alone – God, in His grace, gives assurance through His Word that He hears each feeble groan. His grace is sufficient so we rely on Him to bring good out of what we think is bad. And further down the road we’ll look back and thank Him for leading us down that path.
Opposition comes sometimes from surprising sources, occasionally even brothers – Who think what we are doing is all wrong because it is different from the others Who have traditionally done things one way and insist our way is wrong. But God who guides us expects my reliance on Him as He leads us along.
To rely on the Lord means I fully trust Him, even when I don’t know what’s best. To rely on Him requires me to bless Him with my implicit trust. To rely on the Lord will take away the temptation to claim the victory. To rely on the Lord will bring a testimony that success depends on Deity.
“O Holy Righteous God, I know every issue in life is known by Thee. The reasons, the course and the results of a matter are before Thee as an open book. When things
arise and I am unsure of what to do, and cannot visualize the conclusion – please give me the faith to take the next step, and go ahead in confidence in Thee. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”