“Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus…” (1 Kings 15:18).
TEXT — 1 Kings 15: 16-24
Message
Many people are quick to take the easy way out. They accept what appears to be the most logical advice that comes to them. They seek shortcuts to finding a solution to an enduring problem. For a while, it may seem to be working. Soon enough, they realise that greater problems had been created.
Asa started well as king of Judah, for he “did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father”. However, success for him came at a great price. Baasha, the king of Israel, waged war against him, seized part of his territory, and began constructing a new city there. When Asa realised he could not dislodge Baasha, he turned to the wrong source for help. He gathered all the treasures in the house of the Lord and delivered them to Benhadad, king of Syria, with the plea that he should break his alliance with Baasha. It worked, because the king of Syria attacked Israeli cities, forcing the king of Israel to withdraw from Judah.
The building materials he abandoned as he hurriedly withdrew from Judah were collected by Asa and used to build two new cities. From then on, however, Asa’s life took a downward plunge. His rebellion soon brought a strange disease upon him. Yet, in his sickness, he refused to turn to God, and instead, kept hopping from one physician to another, all to no avail. Soon, he died from that sickness, a pitiable end for a king that began his reign by doing right in the sight of God.
We must avoid taking the easy way out. It may appear simple and straightforward but it does not last. Worse still, it has the tendency to turn the heart from God, to make us self-conceited and to think that we can solve our own problems. Turning away from God opens the door for the devil to plant sicknesses, diseases and afflictions in us. Resist the pressure to seek a shortcut in dealing with life challenges and let your whole dependence rest on the Almighty God.
Thought for the day
Be warned: shortcuts lead to long and damning problems.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
