Lynda Switzer: Keeping One's Heart Loyal to God

The scriptures contain many accounts of saints in the Old Testament and the New Testament who began well with God in their lives, but in their latter years departed from the ways of God. Recently I read the account of Asa, a king in Judah. In 2 Chronicles 14:2, we read that “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” He removed idols and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God. The Lord gave him rest in the land. He called his nation together to build walled cities “because we have sought the Lord and he has given us rest. So they built and prospered.”

Then Zareh from Ethiopia came against Asa and the army of Judah with an army of a million soldiers,   the largest army mentioned in the Old Testament. King Asa cried out to the Lord his God for help declaring that, “we rest on You and in Your name we go against this multitude, O Lord. You are our God: do not let man prevail against You!”

The Lord struck the Ethiopians, and Asa and his army of 300,000 overthrew the Ethiopian army “for they were broken before the Lord and His army.”

Then, in 2 Chronicles 15, the Spirit of God came upon Azariah and he prophesied to King Asa saying, “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.” King Asa took courage and continued to remove idolatry from the nation. Along with the nation of Judah and King Asa, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh “entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.” The scriptures record that the Lord “was found by them and Lord gave them rest all around.”

However, something happened in King Asa’s thirty-sixth year as king. Baasha king of Israel came against him. Asa, instead of crying out to the Lord for help and protection, went with treasures from the temple on his own seeking help from the King of Syria. The prophet Hanani rebuked King Asa telling him, “because you have relied on the King of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the King of Syria has escaped from your hand.” Hanani continues to prophesy to Asa that because he relied on the Lord when the Ethiopian army of one million came against him, that the Lord delivered King Asa. The scriptures record that King Asa was enraged with Hanani and put him in prison. Then Asa began to oppress some of the people. Three years later King Asa died not seeking the Lord when his feet became diseased.

In the midst of this account of a tragic end to a good king’s life, God inserts this verse in 2 Chronicles16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. . . “

As I pondered this portion of scripture, the Lord showed me several Biblical values to pursue in growing a loyal heart to the Lord:

1. In the midst of seasons of God’s blessing, He opens doors for us to build for His Kingdom purposes. Let’s be alert and active to these open doors and times of building.
2. Amidst God’s blessings, we are to be ever diligent against the evil one’s tactics and ruthlessly deal with any idolatrous ways in our lives.
3. When troubles, storms, and war come to our lives, our first line of defense is to cry out to the Lord and to affirm our faith and trust in Him. Our victory is in the Lord; it’s not in ourselves and our effort.
4. Listening to and obeying the voice of the Lord brings God’s blessings, His protection, and often, other believers who have a similar kindred heart want to band together with us.
5. The Lord places a high value on a heart that is loyal to Him: a people who seek the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul will be found by the Lord!
6. We must beware lest past victories and spiritual accomplishments lull us into seasons where we stop pursuing the Lord as new challenges come into our lives. As we began in the Spirit walking with the Lord, even so we must continue in the Spirit. We may even hear a prophetic word that calls us back to the foundation of our faith. We cannot despise that word. Instead, we continually need to humble ourselves before the Lord acknowledging that He is our Source and our Strength.
7. 7.    Still today, as in the days of King Asa of Judah, our Lord’s eyes are searching the earth looking for those whose hearts are loyal to Him to show Himself strong on our behalf.

“Lord, I want to be one of those believers with a loyah heart to You that your eyes are searching the whole earth for, living humbly knowing that You are my source; You are my strength; You are my victory. I yield myself afresh to your purposes and I know that only You by Your Spirit can create that loyal heart of faith within me.”

Whether we are new in the Lord or we have known the Lord for many years, let’s continue to cultivate loyal hearts by seeking the Lord with all our hearts and all our souls for all the days of our lives.