2 CHRONICLES 14:8-12 – And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor. Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

THEME OF THE DAY. LESSONS FROM A DEPENDENT KING. The numbers didn’t match up. I can see King Asa counting his men . . . “Hmm, we got 580,000 armed with shields, spears, and bows. Not bad. I think we are good and battle-ready.” Then, one of his scouts returns from a reconnaissance trip sizing up the enemy. He reports, “Sir, I think we have a problem. I saw Zerah’s army. It is big. Really big. The dust was flying but I was able to count 300 chariots. One more thing, sir. There are a million men, just a little less than double the size of ours. With all due respect, I think we might want to reconsider this battle. The numbers just don’t match up.” But the king proceeded to battle and victory occurred despite the odds being stacked against them. What a display of bravery, right? Yes, and no, but instead of dissecting the scene, let’s learn some valuable lessons from King Asa when we are called to battle in our lives, and called we are – daily – against sin, the world, and the devil.

First, the King did not let the fear of what he saw quench his faith in the power of his unseen God. Sure he was afraid and it showed in how he prayed. He didn’t just whip up a little meal-time type of prayer. No, he pleaded. The Word reads, “And Asa cried to the Lord his God.” Friends, we learn to pray when life is hard and overwhelming, not easy and manageable. God knows this, and will often place us in extreme difficulties for the purpose of teaching us to really pray; to really cry out to Him.

A second lesson from the King is the realization that we are helpless without the Lord – “O Lord, there is none like You to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you.” It is one thing to say, “Lord, I need help”. It is a whole different level of crying out for help when we really believe unless God comes to our aid, we are done and defeated. And this is exactly where God wants us – totally empty of any self-help with total reliance on Him who is our help. He is most honored when we are most dependent.

The third lesson is crucial and chief. King Asa prays for what was really happening – God’s honor was at stake in this battle. He pleads, “And in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” This is the height of mature faith and spiritual maturity. The battle wasn’t about King Asa and the protection of the people. It was about God’s glory and honor. The battle was the Lord’s and no way was He going to let unbelieving pagans steal it away by defeating His people. Yes, God answered the king’s prayer for help, but that was the secondary issue. He intervened for His sake. And that is how it is with us. God will be our help. He will answer our prayers, but as in all things, it isn’t about us. It is about Him. The show of our dependence upon Him in the heat of battle is an opportunity for us to acknowledge that all things, included our daily battles, are really about Him.

PRAYER: “Father, help me see the greatest times You are glorified in my life when I am most desperate in my life.’”

QUOTE: “God will be glorified only when we conclude our help and deliverance is found in Him.”