For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. (2 Chronicles 16:9 ESV)
A prophet spoke these words to a king and was immediately thrown in jail for it… go figure!
Amazingly, God who is completely self-sufficient, is all powerful, all knowing, and is everywhere at every moment in time, is searching for something. His eyes are running to and fro throughout this world searching for people who are blameless, who trust in Him, who have the faith and courage to believe in His promises more than they believe in what’s happening around them. And from the context of this passage we see that what God is looking for is rare…
Asa, the king in today’s promise, was the great-great-grandson of King David who God Himself referred to as a man after His own heart. Though he made some big mistakes and went through hardships because of them, he also made many great decisions, was constantly going to war against God’s enemies, and was eager to build God a temple. Other versions of the Bible translate the word “blameless” as loyal, devoted, and completely His. All these attitudes can be clearly seen in David.
This is what God is looking for. Though He has everything, much more than any one of us could imagine, He senses a lack of men and women who are loyal to Him and His goals. As a result, He is constantly searching throughout the world for people with this quality, and when He finds them He gives them strong support… just imagine what that means!!
Asa was a great king for most of his reign. Ten years into it he trusted in God when Egypt and Libya attacked him with a million-man army. He was outnumbered 2 to 1, but trusted in God for victory and won, and for many years no one dared attack Judah because of that victory. But in his thirty-fifth year as king, Asa was attack by his countrymen, Israel, and instead of once again trusting in God for victory, he took treasures out of the House of God and paid the unbelieving king of Syria to protect him — that’s where todays promise fits in. A few years later he contracted a foot disease and once again did not pray to God for healing, but only consulted doctors. He died after two years of sickness.
Why do some people trust in God early on in life, experience His greatness, see miracles… and then turn away? Why are some people so smart for a period of time, and then turn so foolish? We could come up with a long list of reasons why, but the real issue is a lackadaisical attitude toward loyalty. If God is ready to strongly support us, why experience this amazing blessing for only one phase of our lives? Why not have it forever? If we want this blessing, we need to make loyalty to God our main priority in life. We need to remind ourselves of our desperate need for Him both in good times and bad. In fact, we may need Him more in the good times.
I believe that God’s searching eyes are going to lock onto you.
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