Have you ever experienced a missed opportunity? One that is life-changing and heart-breaking? I believe there are those days and it leaves you feeling sad and regretful. There was one missed opportunity mentioned in the Bible and it was an opportunity given by God to King Asa, a descendant of David.
2 Chronicles 16:7-9, “At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, ‘Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you. The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.‘”
It was really sad. King Asa had already experienced catching God’s opportunities earlier in his life and let his relationship with God go to waste. I guess its really human nature to spoil things. At the start of his reign, Judah experienced 10 years of complete peace. Even when he was threatened by other nations around him, he was not defeated because he relied on God. In 2 Chronicles 15, God told him that whenever he seek God, he will find him. But if King Asa abandoned God, God will abandon him also.
King Asa made a lot of religious reforms during much of his reign which pleased God. He took out the false image and idols in all Judah. He even repaired the altar of the LORD. And for 35-years he had a stable reign. This all changed in his 36th year referenced by the verse above. It was regrettable that he had a change of heart and abandoned God. He had to rely on mere men to protect and aid him. A complete turnaround. Seriously.
After three years of being rebuked by Hanani the seer, King Asa developed a serious foot disease and died two years later. In just a short time, his relationship with God was gone and he was unrepentant to the end. It was a huge turnaround.
Let us not be like King Asa my dear friends. Let us keep our faith in God and never doubt His words and promises to us. He will not fail us. He will always keep His word even if we do not.
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