II Chronicles 14-15  After the death of his father,  Abijah, Asa became king.  "And Asa did good and right in the sight of God". 

One of the good and right things that Asa did was to get rid of the foreign gods and tear down altars and pillars.. even the one belonging to his grandmother Maacah.. described as a "horrid image".  Asa also commanded Judah to "seek the Lord God of their fathers".  Because of Asa's devotion to the Lord the country was at rest for the first 10 years of Asa's reign. 

Then, the Ethiopians came with and "army of a million men and 300 chariots".   Judah was vastly outnumbered. But, Asa turned to the Lord and prayed.. "Lord, there is no one besides Thee to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us Lord our God, for we trust in Thee, and in Thy name have come against this multitude, O Lord, Thou art are God; let not man prevail against Thee."  This powerful prayer is one that we need to pray as we live in the midst of a society bent on their own evil ways. We.. as Christians.. may be outnumbered but our God is great!

The Lord answered Asa's prayer. He routed the Ethiopians and gave Judah a great victory. From the spoils of that war Asa offered 700 oxen and 7000 sheep as a sacrifice to the Lord. 

Asa was told "the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you."  Asa took this to heart and led Judah to seek the Lord and they did. The Lord blessed Judah so that "there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign." 

Again, the message of seeking the Lord... trusting Him in every difficulty.. and abiding in Him.. calls out to me.  It is sad and discouraging to see our country.. our world.. exalting sinful behavior, forsaking the ways of God, and persecuting believers in Jesus Christ. But, we can be encouraged by the Word of God that nevertheless.. He reigns and He is on our side. 

Father in heaven, we worship You alone. "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Adonai, all the clans of the nations will worship in your presence. For the kingdom belongs to Adonai, and he rules the nations." (Psalm 22:27-28)  This is the truth that we gird ourselves with.. so that we can stand firm in the evil day.  You are with us when we stay with You. That is your promise.. a shield that we raise by faith to quench the fiery darts of the enemy. Praise to our God and to the Son, who abides in us and whose power is at work in us for Your glory. Keep us in Your perfect peace and accomplish Your perfect will in us, Lord.  We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our King.  Amen!