Utilize seasons of reprieve for unparalleled growth | The crucial truth about daily Bible reading (2 Chronicles 14-20)

Utilize seasons of reprieve for unparalleled growth | The crucial truth about daily Bible reading (2 Chronicles 14-20)

Taking care of ourselves…

Hear me out, a season of reprieve can be a much needed mental, emotional, or physical break from a reality filled with tribulations. However, a season of reprieve should not be a spiritual break from life. Click To Tweet

Hear me out, a season of reprieve can be a much needed mental, emotional, or physical break from a reality filled with tribulations. David prayed for rest and relief multiple times when things became overwhelming; and we should do the same.

However, a season of reprieve should not be a spiritual break from life.

Should we care for our physical bodies, our mental strength, and our emotional stability? Yes! As Christians, we must acknowledge the reality that the Bible teaches these are all wound up and intertwined with our spiritual lives.

[B]ut hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

Titus 1:8

Again, this does not mean you need to add heaps of shame or guilt for taking care of yourself (especially if you need a season to process and/or heal). What I am suggesting, is that true healing and processing can occur when you strike a balance between self-care and Godly growth. As in, if your season is calm, utilize that calm to further develop your relationship with God because He is the great physician. (Also, because when you do not know the journey you will face after that season, so prepare your whole heart for a firm foundation!) Start with a daily Bible reading, and I might add, start from the beginning so you can see the beautiful picture it paints.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

Colossians 3:23

From calm to ?

A season of calm can be utilized for good, or it can turn into laziness.

Now we know the Bible is full of examples: things to do, things not to do, people to emulate, people to learn from, people to follow, people to avoid, etc. King Asa teaches us a well-known concept that is taught throughout all of Scripture and that holds value across all cultures and time. Do not become lazy. From the beginning (Genesis) to the end (Revelation), this truth is taught.

If we journey back to Genesis, it is Joseph who took great care to work hard and save up grain in times of harvest to prepare for the famine.

Or how about Solomon? God granted him seasons of peace so he could build the temple, and build a glorious temple he did.

Jumping past the current chapters, the wisdom book of Proverbs always provides valuable insight for life.

Go to the ant, O sluggard;
    consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
    officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer
    and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 6:6-11

Another wisdom book, Ecclesiastes, provides insight on keeping up with things in there proper time.

Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
    and your princes feast at the proper time,
    for strength, and not for drunkenness!
Through sloth the roof sinks in,
    and through indolence the house leaks.

Ecclesiastes 10:17-18

Looking even further ahead in the Bible, let’s jump into the New Testament. The parables are always good reminders, so does Jesus advise us to be ready or play it safe by doing little to nothing? He demands the kind of service that produces results.

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.  To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:14-30, emphasis added

And one more, for good measure yes, but also to show that this theme spans the entire Bible. Revelations shares this truth of laziness through apathy.

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.'”

Revelation 3:15-17

Idleness…

Since the Chronicler likes to point out heart issues, take note of Asa’s attitude. For much of Asa’s rule, there were seasons of peace.

So too, the Chronicler often points out that peaceful and prosperous seasons were linked to righteous rule. Was Asa’s attitude to bask and feast in the goodness, or did he take the gift God gave him and turn it into something better?

And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace. And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered.

2 Chronicles 14:2-7

It can be seen here, that his season of calm was put to good use. Not only that, look at how he handles the imposing threat. 1 MILLION men came to fight him.

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. 

2 Chronicles 14:9-12, emphasis added

His faith was strengthened. He invested his time wisely in Godly business and turned to the Lord at the next trial.

Wise counsel…

But wait, there’s more… Asa was not done reforming the land of Judah! He received an encouraging word that complements Moses’ counsel to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.”

“Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”

2 Chronicles 15:2-7, emphasis added

As with Moses’ speech, this spurred the recipient into action! Not a passive acceptance of ‘good enough’. We must take heed of this; the Christian faith and life is to be active!

Daily Bible readings of these messages are OUR wise counsel. What a gift we have been given! Do we take advantage of it and act on it? Or is your Bible collecting dust until the following Sunday when you haul it out from the bookshelf?

As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage AND put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

2 Chronicles 15:8-15

He wanted the Israelites to wholeheartedly serve the Lord.

Can’t stop, won’t stop…

Again, he doesn’t stop there. It became very personal for him and he did not let anyone off the hook. Have you heard the phrase “no one is above the law”? Here, he models this in truth with the oath and covenant they just confirmed.

Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.

2 Chronicles 15:16

He gained courage to be bold and make drastic changes in the land because Azariah had reminded him where Judah had been and what happened when repentance was exhibited.

He knew this applied to everyone… even family. His whole heart was in it 100% for the Lord first.

Some questions to consider…

From the verses referenced above, here is some food for thought.

• Did Asa utilize his calm season for the future like Joseph?
• What about taking advantage of no wars by being productive like Solomon?
• From Proverbs, would he be considered an ant or a sluggard?
• Was Asa one to revel in his prosperity or did he fortify what he had while he had the chance?
• Did he do one thing, stop and call it good (as though like the servant with one talent)?
• Would you consider Asa as one who was cool and content with his blessings or was he hot and ready to act for the Lord?

[S]o that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:12

Some questions for you to consider about yourself:

• Are you willing to put the Lord first above a family member serving an idol?
• How would you describe your walk?
• During your seasons of calm, were you an ‘Asa’?

Yes, Asa made mistakes, just as we all do, yet, he was a man of action and the Bible says this about him (emphasis added): “But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days.”

Get a grip on your whole heart…

See, you cannot separate out the spiritual aspect of who you are and segregate it into some little box. Get your daily Bible reading in and bolster your whole heart to infiltrate your whole body! Click To Tweet

See, you cannot separate out the spiritual aspect of who you are and segregate it into some little box. That is representative of a cold heart. You’ve heard it said to be in the Bible daily, so do it! Get your daily Bible reading in and bolster your whole heart to infiltrate your whole body!

Would you walk into a blustery snowstorm with shorts, a tanktop, no shoes, and one glove? Just as you cannot separate out this one extremity to protect your entire body, you also cannot separate out the spiritual aspect of who you are if you are to be hot for the Lord!

Conversely, let’s consider a hand-y metaphor from a different angle.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Matthew 5:30

If your whole self is truly His, you will deal drastically with sin, rather than let one section of you continue in wickedness and seep into the whole body.

To get an even better hand-le on this, consider these verses.

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [Repent!] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 4:4-10

Seeking the Lord is an active faith, are you doing your daily Bible reading? If not, there is no time like the present to start!

Perhaps, though, the better question to ask yourself, is my hand or my whole heart serving the Lord? And, what are you going to do about it?

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