Align With The Almighty

The best alliance you can form is with Jesus. He alone knows what you need, how to best help you, and He has the power to save you.

"Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. “Let there be a treaty between me and you...Hanani the seer came to Asa...Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand...Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison...Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.” 2 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬-‭12

The gifts we have can be both a blessing and a curse. Our strengths can be used for good, or they can be used in ways that are to our own detriment. How will you use your gifts today? Odds are that Asa was gifted with strengths in critical reasoning and problem resolution. Those tend to be important attributes of a king. But what happens when you get so confident in something that you are good at that you stop going to God for guidance?

This is what happens in this story. Asa is not paranoid. He is facing a real problem. There is a king who has a large army that is laying siege to his town. He knows he has money, and he decides on his own that peace is worth every penny. So he pays the price and buys temporary peace. So what is the problem with his approach?

He never sought the Lord. He trusted in his own understanding. Reading between the lines, God was not pleased because He had a different plan to deliver and teach the people that learning to delight in His plans is better than deciding on their own. Remember to take things back to God's original design. God wants us to daily walk in the garden. We do well when we focus on our relationship with Him rather than relying on our own strengths.

The challenge is that this is the exact opposite of what we have learned from culture and our own experiences. We think if we do not do something, it will not get done. We think we are on our own and have to find a way. The ideal in American West mythology is the lonely hero. At no point does God celebrate this lifestyle. He wants us to learn to align our lives with Him and learn to walk in His ways. Is there anywhere you have been like Asa? Anywhere you have been trusting in your own plans, timing, or treasure? Even at the end of his life, he is so full of pride that he does not pray to God for healing for his feet.

“With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you— Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek your name. Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭83‬:‭3‬, ‭5‬, ‭16‬, ‭18‬ ‭

Asaph sang of the alliances he saw in the world around him. He saw other nations and people banding together against God and His people. Do we not see the same thing happening every day in our world? Do we not see people coming together to get more control, power, and dominance? What if God does not want to see endless consolidations of power that end up maximizing profits but harming people? What if He is not pleased by the alliances He sees in the world today?

Make it personal. Consider your own alliances. Who are you aligning your life with? It has been said that if you look at a person's five closest friends, you could already predict their future. The text challenges us to consider the humble path that relies on God and people whose hearts are aligned with God. Ultimately, God should have the final say in all we do if He is Lord.

“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison. As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them. Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭26‬:‭4‬-27

Do you have any foolish friends? Any people who are prone to gossip, laziness, apathy, starting fights, and holding on to grudges? Do you see people who continue down the same path of destruction, endlessly digging pits that they end up falling into? Why? Solomon says the fool does not learn from their mistakes and is wise in their own eyes.

The hard truth is that there is a little fool in each of us, and that fool loves to be in first place in our hearts. None of us are all good or all bad. All holy or all evil. It is the choices that we make each day that determine whether our lives are aligning with God's plan for our lives. Wisdom warns us to be careful and consider how we are living. Pride tells you to do what you want. Humility tells us to lay down our choices to Christ and follow His ways. Are there any things in your life that you keep repeating that are not helping you love God or others well? Any ways you need to repent?

“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it...I fell facedown, crying out, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?” He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’ So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.” Ezekiel‬ ‭9‬:‭4‬, ‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭

Consider the connection between a fool falling into a pit they have dug and the consequences that come upon the people who have constantly sinned against God. God tells Ezekiel that they brought the pain on themselves. They refused to listen or turn. They had stubborn hearts and selfish ways. Their hearts aligned with earthly desires rather than kingdom causes. The very people who were made by the hand of the living God had used their hands to do evil in His eyes.

Ask yourself why. Why would they end up sinning? Fear and the enemy of our lives love to tempt us to turn from God. Sin is so good at getting us to do what we do not want to do. Every one of us sins. Every one of us has times when we listen to the lies of fear and the temptation of the flesh. We can get stuck in unhealthy patterns and even unhealthier relationships.

God wants people whose hearts align with His. Ezekiel fell facedown and mourned for the people who were facing punishment. Is this our approach? Do we mourn when other people suffer because of sin, or do we celebrate when people get what they had coming to them? God wants us to learn to love our enemies and have compassion while other people are facing consequences. The truth is that He has compassion on us, and while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Who could you comfort instead of convict who is going through a hard time today?

“What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” Romans 7:1-25

If ever there was a passage we could relate to as humans who sin intentionally and unintentionally, it is Romans 7. Listen to the struggle Paul goes through. Sound familiar? Don't we go through the same struggle every day? We want to do good, but end up doing wrong. Then the enemy loves to make us feel terrible about it. The good news is Jesus does not leave us alone or depart when we make a bad decision. As we align our lives with Him, we find the strength to move forward.

Paul comes to a place of humility. He asks the same question as Asa. Who will rescue me? What is the solution? The difference is how the two men answer the question. Asa answered by trying to bribe a king. Short-term solutions lead to short-term relief. Paul's answer is Jesus Christ. He answers an earthly problem with a heavenly solution.

We will never overcome sin in our own strength. Sin requires that we surrender to a Savior and the Holy Spirit. Think back to Solomon. We have fool and faithful in us. His earlier proverb told us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding by submitting and committing to God. Will that be your approach today? Will you go to God for everything?

Paul later said in Philippians that we are to pray about everything. So often we worry about everything and pray about nothing. What would happen if we sought Jesus with every decision and trusted Him with every outcome? Would we not see God show up in ways we could not imagine? The list of things we need to bring to God is endless.

Let us not fall back into old ways or dig new pits. Sin loves sorry routines. Instead, let Jesus have Lordship over your plans, your fears, your relationships, your money, and your desires. You do not have to hide your struggles with sin. Rather, bring everything to Him so He can direct your path. When you fall, turn back. When you are anxious, pray. When you do not know what to do, seek. When you are tempted to rely on yourself, step back and take time to ask God the next step He wants you to take.

Today is about alliances. You will align your life with something. Choose to align your life with Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit guide your decisions, shape your relationships, and redirect your focus so the love of God flows through you. Sin will try to pull you out of alignment and separate you from your Savior. Be aware of it. Call it out. Then call on the One who is always with you. Seek Him, trust Him, follow Him, and let Him lead you through the sieges and the celebrations of life.