So They Built and Succeeded

​Meditation
2 Chronicles 14:7—So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars.  The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God. We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side.”  So they built and succeeded.  
 

King Asa is a good role model for how to restore a nation to greatness. First, he removed pagan altars and the high places where the people worshiped idols. Second, he told the people to seek the God of their ancestors and obey His Word.  Third, he built fortified cities while his nation was at peace. Fourth, when a million-strong Cushite army attacked Judah, Asa cried out to God for help.  His trust in the Lord led to God routing the enemy before him such that there were no survivors. Azariah, a prophet of God, went out to meet Asa after his victory and said, “The LORD is with you when you are with Him.  If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you” (15:2b).  

The reason our nation is crumbling is not hard to discern.  We worship at the altars of prosperity and power and build flesh-pleasing high places. We abandoned God’s commands and call intolerant what He deemed righteous. We elect those who tear apart the elegant constitutional framework our founders created to protect us, to live under relentless legislation enacted to control us.  Arrogance and a heavy hand enable officials to lie about an overheating world in order to rob industries of revenue while they personally pollute the environment. When confronted with their chicanery they hide behind “climate change.”  When has the world notexperienced weather alterations? We have redefined marriage to promote perversion and labeled those who disagree as “haters.”  Civil debates cannot be tolerated by those who preach toleration but only for their concepts.  Technology accelerates depravity, the ability to buy and to be bought—compromising our very identities.  

What this republic desperately needs is to elect leaders who fear God and who love their neighbors as they love themselves.  When this happens the following will occur: Political correctness will be defined as holding both leaders and ourselves accountable to do what is honorable. With God’s help we will defeat extremists bent on controlling our beliefs and killing dissenters.  We will eliminate frivolous and costly lawsuits, repeal government intrusion and overregulation, simplify taxation and provide aid to those legitimately helpless.  We will stop blaming others and take personal responsibility to vote, to live as righteous citizens and care for each other and the planet as God intended.  

​If our nation turns its back on God He will surely leave us to our own wicked schemes and our power will not matter as we crumble from within.  If we will empower Asas and listen to Azariahs we will regain a strong nation and the whole world will be the better for it.   
 
Inspiration
When material things are under spiritual control they fulfil their proper subordinate role.  Released from that restraint they manifest very quickly the power that lies behind them. The law of their nature asserts itself, and their worldly character is proved by the course they take.—Watchman Nee in Love Not the World
 
©2014Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)