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God Eyes are on Those Who Trust Him
If you are familiar with the God of the Bible, then you understand the foundational principle that God wants you to trust in Him. It’s a simple premise, but it can be difficult to actually, honestly live a life with that kind of unwavering faith and trust. Despite the challenging nature of this, I want to share a small excerpt from a story in the book of Chronicles in the Bible to encourage you to do just that.
“At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, ‘Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.’ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.” (2 Chronicles 16:8-10)
Unfortunately, King Asa of Judah made the same mistake many Bible believers do – he trusted in powers and plans that were not the Lord’s. Specifically, he trusted in the armies of neighboring peoples rather than entrusting the fate of himself and Judah into the hands of the Lord. What makes this account particularly frustrating is that Asa had trusted the Lord to deliver him and his people from the Ethiopian army of a million warriors (2 Chronicles 14:9) in the past, so why didn’t he trust God this time?
When God sends Hanani to reveal Asa’s mistake to him, notice what Hanani says: “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this”(9). I believe this statement from Hanani reveals two answers that offer insight into why Asa did not entrust his and Judah's fate into God’s hands.
- Asa forgot that God is seeking opportunities to show his strength. Hanani reveals that God’s eyes are scouring the earth so that He can give strong support to His people. This is exactly what Asa and the Judeans need, but Asa seems to be aloof to that reality. Can you imagine the kind of strength God could have offered to Asa and the people if Asa had just looked to God instead of the army of Aram? We will never know what amazing acts or confounding powers God would have performed for them to bring victory because Asa never sought the Lord’s help.
- In this moment, Asa’s heart was not completely God’s. By not beseeching God for help, Asa shows that his heart is not completely God’s; at least not in this moment. God wants to step in and support those “whose heart is completely His”. Through Hanani, God reveals that Asa had “acted foolishly” regarding this truth.
What does all of this mean for you? God is still looking out across the earth for opportunities to give strong support. Just like in Asa’s days, God is looking to give that support to those whose hearts belong completely to Him. So the question is, is your heart God’s? Here are a couple of tools to figure that out.
- Have you inclined your ear to do what God commands? Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). The first marker to knowing whether or not your heart is God’s is whether or not you do what God says. If you can’t even begin to do what God is telling you that you need to do, then how can you say that your heart is His?
- What do you do when life is hard and pressure is building? In those moments, your true priorities and beliefs come to light. If you do not turn to God for Him to give you the strong support that you need in those moments, then your heart wasn’t completely His in the first place. Jesus says, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble“ (Matthew 6:31-34).
God is looking across all of the earth at this very moment and is taking notice of those whose hearts are completely His so that He can strongly support them in their need. Are you one that God is standing behind? Will you ask Him for help?
